FIVE years since the launch of the Maseru Securities Market (MSM), RNB Properties Limited, a local property company has become the first business to list its ordinary shares on the platform.

RNB Properties Limited is one of the leading companies in the property industry in Lesotho with the main focus on property management, property consultancy and property developers.

The company was established in 2010 and has been operating for 11 the past years. 

The listing of the company’s ordinary shares on the main platform of MSM means all issued shares of the same class can now start trading on MSM, offering the existing investors the opportunity to sell their acquisition.

It will also offer potential investors the opportunity to buy shares on the regular market where the company valuation and the price of its shares will be driven by market fundamentals.

The listing marks an important and significant milestone in the development of capital markets in the country, more specifically the development of equity markets and the exchange.

“What we are witnessing here today as RNB Properties Limited comes to the platform is a giant step in the right direction. RNB Properties Limited has become the pioneer of this noble initiative that I believe will challenge many other entrepreneurs who have previously shied away from capital markets.

“Many entrepreneurs could have hesitated to come on board, probably because they did not want to be subjected to the probity and corporate governance standards that the Registrar of Companies and Registrar of Capital markets insist on before participating in the capital markets. I am hopeful that after today, many will not only see it as a possibility but also as an opportunity to raise that much needed capital for their business expansions,” the Governor of the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL), Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane said during the event on Monday.

She however, went on to confess that the task ahead is huge, challenging stakeholders to continue navigating their diverse roles to make capital markets work for domestic businesses and the economy.

“The journey will not be as smooth for various reasons but I strongly believe that if we can join hands, both the public and private sector, can eventually see a breakthrough for the benefit of our economy,” Dr Matlanyane said.

MSM is part of many initiatives that the Government of Lesotho has undertaken to reform and liberate financial markets in the country and channel funds into productive sectors of the economy.