Abay Bank lists on Ethiopian Securities Exchange

The shares of Abay Bank S.C. were listed on the Main Board of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) on 25 June and started trading at ETB 1,800 ($11.16) a share. It is the fifth company – and fourth bank – on the bourse, which opened in January 2025.

It listed 9.66 million ordinary shares of par value ETB 1,000 each by introduction, meaning it listed its existing shares and did not offer new shares to raise capital. At the current trading price it adds market capitalization of ETB 17.4bn ($108m) to the ESX. The ticker symbol is ABAYB.

The Abay Bank prospectus can be found here. The transaction advisor is D and T Ethiopia Management Consulting Plc (Deloitte) and the legal advisor Tamrat Assefa Liban Law Office.

Tilahun E. Kassahun, CEO of the ESX, said according to the ESX press release: “The listing of Abay Bank S.C. on the ESX Main Market.. reflects growing confidence in the exchange as a platform for raising capital, enhancing corporate visibility, and promoting investor participation. We are delighted to welcome Abay Bank to the market and look forward to supporting its continued growth and success as a listed company.”

Abay Bank CEO Yehuala Gessesse said the listing is a milestone in the bank’s growth, according to the report in Addis Fortune newspaper. The bank was set up in 2010 with ETB 125m in paid-up capital from 823 founding shareholders. He added that the listing gives shareholders a regulated platform for trading their shares, creates opportunities for the bank to raise capital in future, and supports national economic reforms by strengthening transparency, corporate governance and competitiveness.

According to the prospectus, for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2025, the bank reported soaring net interest income of ETB 6.3bn (up from ETB 4.4bn in 2024), and overall net operating income of ETB 10.3bn (up from ETB 6.0bn). Profit before income tax was ETB 4.2bn (up from ETB 1.9bn in 024 but down from ETB 2.1bn in 2023 after soaring expenses) and profit after tax was ETB 3.0bn (ETB 1.5bn in 2024, ETB 1.55bn in 2023). Earnings per share were ETB 463, giving it a trailing Price-Earnings (PE) ratio of 3.9x. Earnings per share were up from ETB 281 in 2024 and ETB 360 per share in 2023.

Total assets were ETB 91.3bn at 30 June 2025 (up from ETB 66.4bn a year earlier), and out of this loans to customers were ETB 49.2bn (ETB 41.1bn). It had 3.12m customers for conventional banking and 526,000 for interest-free/Shariah-compliant banking, (up a little from 3.08m and 469,000 customers respectively the year before), and 3.2m active mobile banking subscribers (up from 2.2m), showing the rise of digital banking, with 69% of transactions handled digitally. The number of branches grew from 542 in June 2024 to 546 in June 2025 after closing 11 branches and opening 15.

More banks in ESX listings pipeline

The Stockmarket.et newsletter reported that Tilahun expects 10-12 more listings next year. The Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) on 24 June issued a notice that it had approved the registration statement of Bunna Bank S.C. and registered the 61.9m existing shares plus nearly 2.6m new shares approved for offer to current shareholders.

According to an article on African Business Insider: “Dashen Bank and Bank of Abyssinia have already completed securities registration with the ECMA, positioning them among the next likely entrants. Anbesa Bank and Amhara Bank are also reported to be at advanced stages of regulatory preparation.”