- P4.1bn turnover
- Broke P3bn 2015 record
- BIHL emerge as most traded company
Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) broke records in 2023 when it registered the highest turnover in its trading history.
According to the BSE Market Performance Report, the bourse recorded a turnover of P4.1 billion in 2023, or around P16.4 million per day. “On a comparative basis, turnover for the same period in 2022 amounted to P1.2 billion,” the BSE noted in its report.
“Thus, this record turnover represents an increase of 241.7 percent.”
This milestone is attributable to the record deal in blue chip insurance giant, Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL), which amounted to P2.9 billion in September 2023, and constituted the highest ever single counter, single day trade in the history of the Exchange. The last time the BSE recorded a significant turnover was in 2015 which amounted to P3 billion, translating to an average daily turnover of P12.2 million.
In 2023, BIHL emerged as the most traded company, with a turnover of P3 billion, followed by Letlole La Rona at P175.8 million while Chobe completed the top three with a revenue of P156.6 million. The total turnover from these three companies accounted for 80.7 percent of total equity turnover, with the leading counter BIHL accounting for 72.6 percent of total equity turnover.
In comparison to the same period in 2022, the top three traded companies accounted for 60 percent of total equity turnover with the leading counter Letshego accounting for 42.5 percent (P499.9 million) of total equity turnover. When it comes to the performance of the share prices, of the 32 listed companies, including BBS registered on the Serala OTC Board, 21 are in positive territory, with the highest gainer being Chobe Holdings at 87.7 percent share price appreciation.
Six companies registered a share price decline and the remaining five counters remain unchanged in share prices. In November 2023, the BSE registered a new listing when Botala Energy debuted on the local exchange. Botala Energy is an Australian energy company focused on exploration and development opportunities for natural gas and renewables in Botswana.
The company is primarily listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. In 2023, trading was dominated by institutional investors, particularly foreign companies at 54.4 percent and local companies at 44.0 percent.
By comparison in 2022, local companies were the primary contributors to total equity turnover with a 61.3 percent contribution.
While the equity market broke records in 2023, the bond market did not perform badly either, with turnover amounting to P3.0 billion, an increase of 57.9 percent from P1.9 billion traded during the same period in 2022. As at December 2023, the listed debt instruments comprised seven Government Bonds, 86 Corporate Bonds, 28 Commercial Papers, and one Sustainable Bond with a total market capitalisation of approximately P28.5 billion.
Similarly, the Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) market recorded an impressive performance. During the period under review, total ETF turnover amounted to P215.6 million, a significant increase of 76.3 percent from P122.3 million registered during the corresponding period in 2022.
This was recorded from 1.2 million units traded thus far in comparison to 783,050 units during the same period in 2022. The NewGold ETF and NewPlat ETF gained 16.0 percent and 13.5 percent while the ADBF ETF lost 8.5 percent in 2023.
