MBABANE – The Eswatini Stock Exchange (ESE) closed July 2025 on a quiet note in the equities market, with no trades recorded throughout the month.
However, the bond market continued to demonstrate resilience and steady growth. The latest Month-End Report released by the ESE paints a mixed picture of the local capital markets: Equity activity remained flat, market capitalisation dipped slightly, compared to a year earlier, but both corporate and government bonds continued to attract significant investor appetite.
Market capitalisation, the total value of all listed companies on the exchange, remained unchanged at E6.67 billion between June and July 2025.
The report notes that this stability was largely due to the absence of share price movements or corporate actions affecting listed companies.
On a year-to-year comparison, however, the equity market was weaker. Total market capitalisation fell by 3.37 per cent, sliding from E6.90 billion in July 2024 to E6.67 billion in July 2025.
Similarly, the ESE All-Share Index – a benchmark that measures overall market performance – was static at 475.38 points in July, the same level recorded in June. Yet, compared to July 2024, the index had lost ground, retreating by 3.37 per cent from 491.98 points.
This means that for investors, equities offered little in terms of price growth or capital gains over the past year. Analysts suggest that without new listings and greater trading activity, the local stock market risks losing its appeal to both domestic and foreign investors.
The July report shows that the exchange currently has nine listed companies, with First National Bank Eswatini (FNBE) maintaining the largest share of market capitalisation at E1.97 billion – accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the exchange’s total value.
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