Capital Market and Securities Authority

Issued securities in Capital markets in Tanzania are currently comprised of fixed income securities (corporate and government bonds), equities for listed companies as well as collective investment schemes (CIS) in open ended schemes in form of unit trust, closed ended schemes in the form of investment companies listed at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and real estate investment trust (REITS). For Derivatives products initiatives to develop the products are underway and expected to be considered for issuance in a near future.

Issuers of securities

Issuers of securities (shares, bonds and units) are the Government, Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) and companies, which issue securities to the public for the purposes of raising capital as well as for privatization purposes.

Limited Liability companies which require capital for expansion of their operations may consider issuing securities. They may use equities and/ or corporate bonds to raise the funds needed. Potential companies include public companies and statutory bodies which have the ability to borrow from the public. These companies must meet certain conditions to qualify to invite the public to invest in the company.

CIS refers to parties generally companies or unit trusts that issue securities (referred to as units) for the express reason of reinvesting the collected funds on financial markets or other investment formats with the premises of passing on investment income to their unit holders.

Central Government and Municipal Councils may also use capital markets to raise needed funds or for privatization purpose.

Primary Capital Markets

Primary markets are markets for the initial issuance of securities. These markets operate for a fixed time period in which investors have an opportunity to acquire securities for the first time (Initial Public Offering) or whenever the company issues additional securities to the public. It is also an opportunity to acquire securities during an offer for sale, in which case, a large shareholder decides to offer his stake in a company to the public. Listed Tanzanian companies issued shares to the public for a period of about three weeks. Subscriptions to IPOs can be made generally through brokers/dealers and other appointed receiving agents like commercial banks and Tanzania Post Corporation.

Secondary Capital Markets

Secondary capital markets are a market for already issued securities in the primary market. The secondary market provides an organized market to enable investors in the primary market to obtain an exit mechanism. In that way the primary markets facilitates the existence of the secondary market and vice versa.