[2007-08-16]  Olympia Upgraded On Botswana Bourse
The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) has approved the migration of Olympia Capital Corporation (Botswana) from its venture capital board to the main board.

This effectively means that the company, which is 27 per cent owned by Olympia Capital Holdings (OCH) Kenya, ceases to be classified as a "speculative" investment on the BSE.

The BSE requires that share certificates and all other official documentation released by companies listed on the venture capital board except the annual report are marked as "speculative". This requirement, according to OCH chief executive Mr Michael Matu limits such firms' efforts to raise capital from institutional investors.

"Now that we are on the main board we will not be considered a speculative investment and we are likely to attract investments from fund managers in Botswana," said Matu.

The BSE listing regulations require that a company has to sell at least 20 per cent of its issued shares to the public before it can migrate to the main board up from a minimum five per cent required to list on the venture capital board.

They also require that such a company must have at least 300 shareholders and demonstrate a profitable track record in the preceding three years.

Profits in each the three years must be at least 1 million Pula (Sh11 million).

The approval was granted on condition that Olympia Capital Botswana continuously adheres to BSE's minimum listing requirements.

"This approval is granted on condition that the company will, on a continuing basis, adhere to the minimum requirements for listing on the main board, particularly the minimum spread requirements," read the letter signed by BSE listing and trading manager, Mr Bopelokgale Soko.

Matu said that OCH Kenya hopes to raise its stake in the subsidiary from the current 27 per cent to over 50 per cent by February next year.

The parent company's shareholding was diluted from 53 per cent to 27 per cent in March after it failed to participate in the Botswana subsidiary's rights issue. Matu hopes to use the Sh420 million expected to be raised from the parent Kenyan company's rights issue that commences on September 3 to buy more shares in the company.

Olympia Capital Botswana has about 347 shareholders over 120 of who are Kenyans who have bought shares directly from the BSE. The shares are currently trading at an average price of 1.10 Pula (Sh10) per share at the BSE.


Source: Copyright © 2007 East African Standard.