The Green and Red of BSE market performance
Business
The Domestic Company Index (DCI) depreciated by 11.3% in 2016 to close the year at 9,400.7 points, down from 10,602.3 points at the end of 2015. The decline in the DCI in 2016 reversed most of the increase in the index in 2015 where it had appreciated by 11.6%, reveals the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) market performance report released this week.
The report shows that the decline in the DCI in 2016 followed a year in which the domestic economy experienced subdued growth which has consequently negatively affected the operational and financial performance of some of the listed companies. “On a quarterly basis, the DCI declined by 3.8% and 1.2% in Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of 2016 respectively and the downward momentum continued in Quarter 3 and 4 with depreciation of 2.8% and 4.0% respectively. It can be noted from this trend that the depreciation of 11.3% was a result of the consistent and cumulative decline in the DCI on a quarterly basis.”
The BSE report further shows that all the other indices computed on domestic companies recorded negative growth. The Domestic Companies Free Float Index (DCFFI) depreciated by 16.7%, the Domestic Financial Sector Index (DFSI) lost 9.7% and the Domestic Financial Sector Free Float Index (DFSFFI) declined by 16.1%.
However, the Foreign Company Index (FCI) closed the year at 1,585.7 points, a marginal increase of 0.8% in comparison to a depreciation of 0.3% in 2015. The Foreign Resources Sector Index (FRSI), which tracks the performance of the mining and minerals companies, closely reflected the growth pattern followed by the FCI, as it grew by 1.1% in 2016 relative to depreciation of 0.4% in 2015. The mining and minerals sector is the largest component in the FCI, hence its noticeable influence on the FCI.
The report explains that the DCI’s decline of 11.3% in 2016 was attributable to the negative performance of the Retail & Wholesaling and the Banking sectors as well as the Financial Services & Insurance and the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) sectors. In aggregate, the four sectors contributed 15.8 percentage points to the depreciation of the DCI. The sectors that contributed positively to the DCI performance were the Property & Property Trust, Energy, Security and Tourism sectors with an aggregate contribution of 4.5 percentage points.
“Historically, the DCI has been heavily influenced by the Banking sector. However, the market capitalisation of the Banking sector relative to total domestic market capitalisation has declined from 46.9% in 2012 to 30.5% in 2016 primarily due to additional listings in other sectors as Retail & Wholesaling and ICT over the years. This has helped to reduce the reliance of the DCI on the Banking sector performance which is ideal given that the index should to a larger extent be representative of the overall performance of all companies listed on the Exchange.”
Other than the decline in the DCI, the BSE report shows that after registering a record turnover of P3 billion in 2015, the BSE realised a turnover of P2.5 billion in 2016. The average daily turnover for 2016 amounted to P10.2 million relative to P12.2 million per day in 2015. The volume of shares traded in 2016 was 778.0 million in comparison to 803.1 million shares in 2015.
“The decline in trading activity could be partly attributable to the adjustment of the brokerage commission structure in April 2016 that introduced a floor of 0.60% on commission charged by Brokers. The BSE will continue to observe the extent to which the change in brokerage commission will affect trading activity going forward, but is thus far of the view that this is not a prominent factor.”
The Financial Services sector contributed the highest to market liquidity on account of the liquidity ratio followed by the Retail & Wholesaling sector. The two sectors contributed 1.88% and 1.34% during the year under review. In respect of the number of shares traded as a percentage of the number of shares listed, the Financial Services sector led the pack as it traded 12.35% of the shares listed in that sector, followed by the Property & Property Trust sector at 9.13%.
According to the report, Letshego continued to dominate the liquidity on the BSE as its contribution to overall volume of shares traded (domestic companies) increased from 34.4% in 2015 to 42.3% in 2016. Other liquid stocks included New African Properties and Choppies which accounted for 20.8% and 12.7% of volume traded respectively.
In terms of investor contribution to equity turnover, the report reveals that local institutional investors (local companies) dominated trading activity in 2016. Trades by local companies accounted for 57.7% of the total turnover whereas foreign companies contributed 32.8% to total turnover in 2016. Local individuals registered an increase from 2.4% to 3.9% between 2015 and 2016 whereas foreign individuals recorded a decline over the same period to account for 1.2% of the turnover in 2016.
The Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) market was a mixture of good and bad fortunes with some ETFs showing improvement while others declined and one remains stagnated in terms of trading. The NewGold ETF which tracks the performance of gold performed well following a great year for Gold Bullion as its price increased on the London market.
The dollar price of the Bullion closed 2016 up by 7.3%, in comparison to the 11.0% dollar price loss in 2015. On the BSE, the price of the NewGold ETF increased by 1.8%. Further, the turnover levels of the ETF on the BSE rose from 265,452 units traded in 2015 to 1,019,934 units traded in 2016. Similarly, the value of the NewGold ETF traded increased from P30 million to P137.5 million during the same period. The ETF traded at prices ranging between P116.00 and P142.20 per unit on the BSE.
The NewPlat ETF which tracks the performance of platinum showed resilience as its performance also improved, registering a turnover of P73.0 million and recorded a volume of 688,628 units. The ETF traded at prices ranging between P97.00 and P112.50 a unit and appreciated by 8.1% in 2016 compared to a depreciation of 12.8% in 2015.
There was a decline in the performance of the CoreShares EWT40 ETF (previously known as BettaBeta) as it traded P588,504 from 15,521 units traded. This was a serious drop compared to the record annual turnover of P427.7 million generated from a total of 10.4 million units in 2015. The reduction in trading activity of the ETF was accompanied by 2.7% depreciation in the price of the ETF on the BSE. The ETF traded at prices ranging between P30.85 and P41.82 per unit.
The NewFunds Inflation-Linked Bond Index (ILBI) ETF which became the fourth ETF to be listed on the BSE in 2015 remains stagnated. The NewFunds ILBI ETF tracks an index that consists of Inflation-Linked Bonds issued by the South African Government. This ETF gives investors an opportunity to hedge exposure against RSA inflation because its returns always adjust with inflation. However, the ETF has not yet traded on the BSE. Notwithstanding, the NewFunds ILBI ETF returned 6.6% on the JSE during 2016 which could have translated into a 15.3% return on the BSE.
The BSE market report also shows that in 2016, the BBI (a Composite Bond Index) appreciated by 6.1% whereas the GovI (a Government Bond Index) and CorpI (a Corporate Bond Index) registered returns of 6.1% and 6.2% respectively, adding that this was mainly on account of adjustments to the bond yields on government bonds partly due to the reduction of the policy rate.
The 3 indices have all outperformed the monthly average inflation rate of 2.8% during 2016. However, the report says activity in the bond market experienced a decline in 2016 when compared to 2015. The value of bonds traded declined from P858.0 million in 2015 to P483.8 million in 2016. On the brighter side, there was some trading of corporate bonds in 2016 (P37.2 million). This was an improvement when compared to 2015 where corporate bonds had not traded at all.
After a rough year marked by the decline in share prices of blue chip stocks, and subsequent decline of the DCI, the BSE’s domestic companies’ market capitalisation stood at P46.6 billion as at the end of 2016, in comparison to P50.2 billion in 2015, a reduction of 7.3%. As a result, the ratio of market capitalisation to GDP decreased to 29.6% in 2016 from 34.3% in 2015.
Similarly, the ratio of turnover to market capitalization declined from 6.3% in 2015 to 5.2% in 2016. Furthermore, the report reveals that the MSCI Emerging Markets index (MSCI EM) outperformed the other three indices during 2016. The MSCI EM appreciated by 8.6% in 2016. On the other hand, the DCI lost 11.3% while the Johannesburg Sock Exchange All Share Index (JSE ALSI) and the Mauritius Stock Exchange (SEMDEX) lost 0.1% each.
Business
Grit divests from Letlole La Rona
Grit Services Limited, a member of the pan African real estate group, London Stock Exchange listed Grit Real Estate Income Group is divesting from Letlole La Rona Limited (LLR), a local real estate company established by government investment arm Botswana Development Corporation over a decade ago.
The Board of Directors of Letlole La Rona Limited this week announced in a statement to Unitholders that Grit Services Limited (‘Grit’) has informed them of its intention to exit its investment in the company.
Grit has been a material shareholder in LLR since 2019. On 07 March 2023, Grit sold 6 421 000 linked units, representing 2.29% of the Company’s total securities in issue, at a market value of BWP 22 537 710.
This trade follows previous sales of 6.79% in December 2022, as communicated to Unitholders on 10 January 2023, as well as a further sale of 4.78% (representing 13 347 068 linked units) on 24 February 2023 to various shareholders.
In aggregate, Grit has sold 13.9% shareholding in the Letlole La Rona between December 2022 and March 2023, resulting in current shareholding of 11.25% in the Company.
Letlole La Rona said in the statement that the exit process will take place in an orderly manner so as to maintain stability of the Company’s share price.
The statement explained that Grit’s sale of its entire shareholding in LLR is in line with its decision to exit investments where it does not have majority control, or where it has significant exposure to currencies other than US dollar, Euro or hard-currency-pegged revenue streams.
“Grit has announced similar decisions pertaining to certain of its hospitality assets in Mauritius recently. The Company would like to advise Unitholders that it remains focused on long-term value delivery to all stakeholders” LLR said
In July last year as part of their Go-to-Africa strategy Letlole La Rona acquired an initial 30% equity stake in Orbit Africa Logistics, with an option to increase this investment to 50%. OAL is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius, owning an industrial asset in a prime industrial node in Nairobi, Kenya.
The co-investment was done alongside a wholly owned subsidiary of London listed Grit. The Orbit facility is situated on a prime industrial site on Mombasa Road, the principal route south of Nairobi center, serving the main industrial node, the port of Mombasa and the industrial town of Athi River and is strategically located 11 kilometers south of the international airport and 9.6 kilometers from the Inland Container Depot.
Grit shareholding in Letlole La Rona was seen as strategic for LLR, for the company to leverage on Grit’s already existing continental presence and expand its wings beyond Botswana borders as already delivered by Kenya transaction.
Media reports have however suggested that LLR and Grit have since late last year had fundamental disagreements on how to go about the Go-to-Africa strategy amongst other things, fuelled by alleged Botswana government interference on the affairs of LLR.
Government through LLR founding shareholder – Botswana Development Corporation has a controlling stake of around 40 percent in the company. Government is the sole shareholder of Botswana Development Corporation.
Letlole La Rona recently released their financial results for the six months ended December 2022, revenue increased by 4% to P50.2 million from P48.4 million in the prior comparative six months, whilst operating profit was up 8% to P36.5 million. Profit before tax of P49.7 million was reported, an increase of 8% on the prior comparative six months.
“We are encouraged by the strong results, notwithstanding a challenging economic environment. Our performance was mainly underpinned by annual lease escalations, our quality tenant base and below average market vacancy levels, especially in our warehouse portfolio,” Kamogelo Mowaneng, Letlole La Rona Chief Executive Officer commented.
LLR reported a weighted average lease expiry period of 3.3 years and escalation rates averaging 6.8% per annum for the period ended 31 December 2022.Its investment portfolio value increased by 14% year-on-year to close the period at P1.4 billion, mainly driven by the acquisition of a 30% stake in OAL in July 2022.
The Company also recorded a significant increase in other income, predominantly due to foreign exchange gains on the OAL shareholder loan. “We continue to explore pipeline opportunities locally, and regionally in line with our Go-to-Africa strategy and our interest remains on value-accretive investments,” Mowaneng said.
An interim distribution of 9.11 thebe per linked unit was declared on the 6th of February 2023 for the half-year period to 31 December 2022, comprising of a dividend of 0.05 thebe and debenture interest of 9.06 thebe per linked unit which will be paid to linked unit holders registered in the books of the Company at the close of business on 24 February 2023.
Business
Stargems Group establishes Training Center in BW
Internationally-acclaimed diamond manufacturing company StarGems Group has established the Stargems Diamond Training Center which will be providing specialized training in diamond manufacturing and evaluation.
The Stargems Diamond Training Institute is located at the Stargems Group Botswana Unit in Gaborone.
“In accordance with the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS) which holds the principle that through education and skills development as well as the strategic alignment between national ambitions and individual capabilities, Botswana will become a prosperous, productive and innovative nation due to the quality and efficacy of its citizenry. The Training Centre will provide a range of modules in theory and in practice; from rough diamond evaluation to diamond grading and polishing for Batswana, at no cost for eight weeks. The internationally- recognized certificate offered in partnership with Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Training School presents invaluable opportunities for Batswana to access in the diamond industry locally and internationally. The initiative is an extension of our Corporate Social Investment to the community in which we operate,” said Vishal Shah, Stargems Group Managing Director, during the launch of the Stargems Diamond Training Center.
In order to participate in this rare opportunity, interested candidates are invited to submit a police clearance certificate and a BGCSE certificate only to the Stargems offices. Students who excel in these programs will have the chance to be onboarded by the Stargems Group. This serves as motivation for them to go through this training with a high level of seriousness.
“Community empowerment is one of our CSR principles. We believe that businesses can only thrive when their communities are well taken of. We are hoping that our presence will be impactful to various communities and economies. In the six countries that we are operating in, we have contributed through dedicating 10% of our revenues during COVID-19 to facilitate education, donating to hospitals and also to NGOs committed to supporting women and children living with HIV. One key issue that we are targeting in Botswana is the rate of unemployment amongst the youth. We are looking forward to working closely with the government and other relevant authorities to curb unemployment,” said Shah.
Currently, Stargems Group has employed 117 Batswana and they are looking forward to growing the numbers to 500 as the company grows. Majority of the employees will be graduates from the Stargems Diamond Training Center. This initiation has been received with open arms by the general public and stakeholders. During the launch, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Honorable Lefoko Moagi, stated that the ministry fully endorses Stargems Diamond Training and will work closely with the Group to support and grow the initiative.
“As a ministry, we see this as an game changer that is aligned with one of the United Nations’ Six Priority Sustainable Development Goals, which is to Advance Opportunity and Impact for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). What Stargems Group is launching today will have a huge impact on the creation of employment in Botswana. An economy’s productivity rises as the number of educated workers increases as its skilled workmanship increases. It is not a secret that low skills perpetuate poverty and widen the inequality gap, therefore the development of skills has the potential to contribute significantly to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability and helping the country become more competitive. We are grateful to see the emergence of industry players such as Stargems Group who have strived to create such opportunities that mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy,” said the Minister of Minerals and Energy.
Business
Food import bill slightly declines
The latest figures released by Statistics Botswana this week shows that food import bill for Botswana slightly declined from around P1.1 billion in November 2022 to around P981 million in December during the same year.
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