Bank of Kigali recently touched a 52-week high of Sh40 per share, making it the sixth premium stock among 11 lenders listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Since cross-listing in Nairobi in 2018 the lender has attracted a lot of foreign interest.
In an interview with the Business Daily, Bank of Kigali CEO Diane Karusisi discusses the lender’s strategy to tap Kenyan investors and play in the regional market.
BANK OF KIGALI RECORDED SIGNIFICANT UPLIFT IN PROFITS. HAS THIS PERFORMANCE CAUSED AN UPTICK OF TRADING AT THE NSE?
We are happy with the performance BK Group Plc has had on the NSE thus far. When we cross-listed on the NSE in 2018, the share price was Sh33.
We’ve seen this price go as low as Sh12 in 2020, during the Covid-19’s toughest times. We were delighted to see the price rise to Sh40 just recently. This is an indication that the Kenyan market is aware of the Group’s performance and want to be part of the story.
SINCE LISTING IN NAIROBI, HAS THE BANK ACHIEVED ITS GOAL TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTOR INTEREST?
Attracting foreign investor interest is a journey— being listed on the NSE has enabled foreign investors who previously had custody issues on the RSE [Rwanda Stock Exchange] become shareholders.
The focus now is to push trade volumes and increase visibility on the Kenyan market as we see huge potential.
KENYAN BANKS HAVE MADE A STRONG PLAY OF GROWING THEIR REGIONAL PRESENCE. DOES BANK OF KIGALI HAVE PLANS TO PLAY IN THE REGIONAL SPACE?
We are focused on the Rwandan market for now — we only have 36 percent banked population in Rwanda and therefore we believe there is still lots to do at home.
Once we have our population banked, we will consider growing regionally. HAVE THE KENYAN ACQUISITIONS SUCH AS KCB’S PURCHASE OF BPR CHALLENGED BANK OF KIGALI’S MARKET SHARE IN RWANDA ESPECIALLY THE RETAIL SPACE? The KCB and BPR merger has not challenged our market share — we remain the market leader on all key metrics. We welcome this merger and believe it will be good for the market.We look forward to working together especially on syndication for big projects. Bank of Kigali recently approved an SME strategy that we hope will strengthen our position in this space. While KCB and BPR are strong in the SME sector, we are seeing how we can increase business through our […]