Though Kenya boosted the stock exchange in Rwanda by cross-listing two companies, the bourse still has a long way to go to become a major player in the regional market.

Two Kenyan companies, KCB and Nation Media Group, joined two domestic firms, the Bank of Kigali and Bralirwa, the largest beer and soft drink manufacturers, on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.

READ: Nation Media Group cross-lists shares in Rwanda

READ: KCB cross-lists on Rwanda’s nascent bourse

Experts say one of the primary reasons for the RSE’s low performance is lack of streamlined purchasing process, especially for the regional companies.

“The process of buying shares in Nation Media Group and KCB, for example, need to be more efficient so that transactions can be completed within the shortest time possible,” said Consolata Mburu, CFC Stanbic financial services and a member of the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Since January, KCB has recorded 6,800 shares traded. However, experts believe business can be even better for the company, if the process of transactions were easier for Rwandans.

Ms Mburu said investors who are interested in KCB shares still prefer to purchase directly from Nairobi, which saves time compared with buying from the Rwanda stock market.

In the same period January-June Bralirwa transacted over six million shares, while Bank of Kigali transacted close to 50 million shares, a pointer that the transaction process might be easier when dealing with the domestic companies.

The total number of deals in period under review was 817 with a total turnover of over $11 million.

NMG is trading at Rwf1200 per share, Bank of Kigali is at Rwf135 while Bralirwa and KCB are selling at Rwf360 and Rwf140 respectively.

However, the low level of awareness of the presence of Kenyan companies, is also blamed for the low transactions at the bourse.

Of the two local listed Rwandan companies, last year, Bralirwa offered a higher dividend of Rwf24.2 compared to Bank of Kigali’s Rwf6.5 per share.

KCB, on the other hand, issued a uniform dividend of Rwf13 per share to all regional shareholders.

Emmanuel Rugamba, stock broker with CDH, says it is hard to predict the performance of the market because it is a small one.

“Because there are few companies listed on the exchange market, if one company loses the effects are reflected across the spectrum,” said Mr Rugamba.

He, however, added that Bralirwa will continue to gain in terms of performance while Bank of Kigali’s performance is hard to tell because the price share has been stagnant for a long time.

The Rwanda Stock Exchange has been boosted by an additional five Treasury bonds and one corporate bond by the Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR).

This year, activity on RSE is likely to be boosted with cross-listing of three Kenyan companies — hotel chain TPS Eastern Africa-Serena, Centum Investment Company and Equity Bank, which officially launched operations in Rwanda recently.

According to Robert Mathu, the executive director of the Rwanda Capital Markets Authority, CMA is waiting for confirmation from the companies that have shown interest of the dates they intend to cross-list.

After the BK IPO, government had planned to sell its stake in telecom operator MTN Rwanda, a unit of South Africa’s MTN Group, through the capital market by issuing the third IPO, but the plans were halted when MTN Group, which was the majority shareholder in the telecom company, exercised its pre-emptive rights and purchased the government shares.

For this year, RSE is not expecting any domestic companies to float their shares.