LuSE targets small businesses

LuSE chief executive officer Brian Tembo said that during the course of 2014, the capital market would pursue the initiative to engage SMEs that were looking for opportunities to raise investment through the alternative market.
In an interview in Lusaka, Mr Tembo said the capital market would be doing a more robust engagement with the SMEs saying that it would also carry out awareness campaigns on benefits associated with listing on the local market.
“We intend as the market to talk to companies that we feel could be looking at this opportunity to list through this alternative market and then also get their peers, the companies that are already listed to share their experiences with these companies.
“During the course of 2014  you will be seeing LuSE  moving this initiative forward and talking to the various actors out there .I must say it is an alternative market not necessarily the low level market,” he said.
Mr Tembo said LuSE would be talking to various actors about the process of listing and associated benefits away from just raising capital saying that the discussion was ongoing.
He said the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) had streamlined their fees as pointed out by the Securities and Exchange Commission, adding that SMEs would now be measured by the strength of their balance sheet.
“This is an alternative market that has got requirement that is more suitable to these small entities,” Mr Tembo said.