The Botswana Stock Exchange’s (BSE) flagship platform, the Domestic Companies Index (DCI), is headed for its strongest annual performance in terms of share prices since 2013, powered by heavyweight counters in tourism, banking and finance.

By close of market on Wednesday, the DCI was up 15% in the year to date, led by counters such as Chobe Holdings (+88.6%), Standard Chartered Bank Botswana (+77.7%), Seedco (30%), Absa Botswana (22.1%) and First National Bank Botswana (21.7%).

The last time the DCI performed at similar levels was in 2013, when it ended the year up 17.8%, before sliding for several years including an 11.3% drop in 2018, followed by an 8.3 percent fall during the COVID-19 year of 2020.

The DCI, which comprises the cream of locally listed companies, is a general indicator of the performance of local enterprises and the returns available to investors. The companies represented by the platform represent a cross-section of the sectors of the economy.

Stockbrokers Botswana’s latest data indicates that of the 23 companies listed on the DCI, just four have recorded net reductions in their share prices this year, with Choppies anchoring the list having shed 26.2% as at Wednesday.