History

Botswana Stock Exchange Overview

Our Inception

The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) is Botswana’s sole stock exchange given the responsibility to operate and regulate the securities market. The formation of the BSE can be traced back to 1989, when it was then known as Botswana Share Market (BSM). At that time there was no formal stock exchange in Botswana and the BSM traded as an informal market. At the time, there were only five (5) listed entities with a single broking firm i.e. Stock Brokers Botswana Ltd (SBB), which was also charged with facilitating trading on the exchange.

In September 1994, the legislation to transform the BSM into a full exchange was passed by Parliament paving the way for the establishment of the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) where trading opened in November 1995. In March 1998, Ernst and Young took the full administration of the BSE. With effect from July 2001, a full time Chief Executive Officer was appointed with the aim of making the BSE completely independent. In April 2003, the BSE discontinued the secretarial role of Ernst and Young Botswana to become a fully independent entity.

Our Evolution

Historically, the exchange was owned by its members (stock brokers), through ownership of Proprietary Rights, and the Government of Botswana through the provision of subventions. Government and brokers have played a meaningful role of developing various facets of the market as a whole. BSE’s demutualisation process commenced on the 1st December 2015. That is, the conversion from a member owned, not-for-profit, entity to a for-profit public company limited by shares under the Companies Act. Ultimately, BSE was demutualized on 2nd August 2018 and is now owned by the Government of the Republic of Botswana and the stock brokers.

Our International Affiliations

The BSE is a Member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), a Partner Exchange of UN’s Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) initiative, a member of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), a member and Secretariat of the Committee of SADC Stock Exchanges (CoSSE) and a Recognized Stock Exchange under the UK’s HMRC. The BSE demutualized in August 2018 and is owned by Government of the Republic of Botswana and four (4) brokerage firms.

Our Products

Currently, the products that can be listed on the BSE include Equities, Bonds & Exchange Traded Funds. The BSE continues to be pivotal to Botswana’s financial system, and in particular the capital market, as an avenue on which government, quasi- government and the private sector can raise capital. The BSE plays host to the most pre-eminent companies doing business in Botswana. These companies represent a spectrum of industries and commerce; these are Agriculture, Banking, Financial Services, Wholesaling & Retailing, Tourism, Energy, Mining & Materials, Property & Trust, Security and Telecommunications.

Our Regulatory Environment

The BSE is regulated by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) and is governed by two (2) pieces of legislation. These are the Companies Act and the Securities Act. The BSE, as a public limited company, is also governed by its Constitution.

For regulating the affairs of the members (stock brokers), the BSE utilises the Members Rules which provide, as the main objective thereof, “to operate a Stock Exchange in Botswana with due regard to the public interest to maintain fair and efficient dealing in securities for the protection of investors and regulate the affairs of members.”

In addition, the Exchange has a set of Listings Requirements which provide the pre-listings and post-listings requirements to be observed by the issuers of listed securities. BSE has different Listings Requirements governing the different types of securities e.g. Debt, Equities and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The emphasis is to make sure that issuers disclose adequate information to the public and investors to facilitate informed investment decision making.