The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) has reported a return on index (ROI) of 36.74% for the year 2022. According to a market performance report published by MSE, this represents a 3.31 percentage point decline when compared to the 40.05% ROI in 2021. However, the report also states that the market registered an increase in both volume of shares traded and total value traded compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
In addition to this, the MSE also registered a first trade on one of the debt securities issued by the Malawi Government and also listed 21 Treasury notes, bringing the total number of listed debt securities to 62. The report reads: “In the year 2022, the market transacted a total of 1,402,901,021 shares at a total consideration of K51.7 billion in 4,271 trades. In the corresponding period 2021, the market transacted a total of 1,301,122,424 shares at a total consideration of K37.7 billion in 3,304 trades.”
Despite this positive performance, MSE’s Chief Operating Officer Kelline Kondowe highlighted the lack of equity listings as a significant challenge, with only 16 listed companies. She stated: “We do know that, generally, financial literacy levels in Malawi remain low and that is reflected in the low levels of participation on the market despite the good returns. So, awareness is an area that we are working on.”
Additionally, the report noted that the market provided positive real returns to investors and that the Malawi All Share Index (Masi) increased from 45,367.68 points on January 3, 2022 to 62,036.05 points on December 31, 2022. This is an impressive performance, considering the economic situation that the country experienced due to the covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Overall, the Malawi Stock Exchange has reported a strong performance in 2022 with an increase in share volume and value traded, as well as positive returns for investors. Despite the challenges faced due to low financial literacy levels and a lack of equity listings, the MSE remains a significant player in the region’s stock market.
