The investing public on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) has all the reasons to smile following revelations that the market registered a strong performance in the first half of 2022, witnessed by a return on investment of 75.15 percent.
The return is above prior year results, recorded at 36.74 percent, and also above inflation, currently at 29.2 percent.
This means investors have been able to earn positive real returns on their investments.
Available figures show that 12 counters registered share price gains of 342.62 percent while four counters registered price declines with the worst recording a -8.30 fall.
MSE Chief Operating Officer Kelline Kondowe said there was also an increase in traded volumes on the market, with 351 million shares traded compared to 278 million shares for the first half of 2022.
“Total value traded stood at K31.8 billion compared to K16.4 billion in the first half of 2022.
“We have also seen a significant uptake in participation by retail investors which was evident in the increased number of transactions that were registered in the period. The market registered 4,941 transactions in the first half of the year compared to 1,777 transactions in 2022,” Kondowe said.
Financial market dealer Kondwani Makwakwa said there has been positive news about listed companies’ performance for the first half evidenced by the published trading statements.
“The Malawi All Share Index, which is a measure of return on the stock market, stood at 75.15 percent, which is good compared to other investments like the money market.
“The good performance can be attributed to good financial performance of companies, which triggered significant demand for shares, causing prices to move up. This good performance will continue as people will be buying stocks in anticipation of a good dividend and possibly the capital gain,” Makwakwa said.
