ECMA Registers 241 Million Shares Across Financial and Non-Financial Companies
The Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) registered more than 241 million shares across seven companies on September 30, expanding the latest wave of securities registrations beyond banks and insurance companies to include a major petroleum distributor.
The registrations covered Cooperative Bank of Oromia, Berhan Bank, Awash Insurance, Oromia Insurance, Oromia Bank, Goh Betoch Bank and Yetebaberut Beherawi Petroleum S.C.
Together, the companies had 241,160,331 shares registered with the Authority.
The September 30 approvals included both existing shares held by shareholders and new shares approved for offering. While most of the companies in the batch are financial institutions, Yetebaberut Petroleum’s inclusion adds a non-financial company to the latest group of issuers registering securities under Ethiopia’s developing capital-market framework.
Shares Registered by Company
| Company | Shares registered | Type of shares |
| Cooperative Bank of Oromia | 210,000,000 | 128 million existing; 82 million new |
| Berhan Bank | 9,999,000 | 6,328,419 existing; 3,671,581 new |
| Awash Insurance | 8,000,000 | Existing |
| Oromia Bank | 7,824,963 | Existing |
| Goh Betoch Bank | 2,176,368 | Existing |
| Oromia Insurance | 3,000,000 | Existing |
| Yetebaberut Beherawi Petroleum | 160,000 | Existing |
| Total | 241,160,331 |
Source: Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA), securities registration notices dated September 30, 2026.
Yetebaberut Brings a New Sector Into the Latest Registration Wave
Yetebaberut Beherawi Petroleum’s registration covers 160,000 existing shares held by shareholders.
The company, established in 2004, is a locally owned petroleum distributor. Its inclusion in the latest ECMA notices is significant because the securities-registration framework applies across sectors rather than only to financial institutions. ECMA explicitly states that the registration requirement applies to companies regardless of the sector in which they operate.
Yetebaberut has also previously indicated an interest in accessing Ethiopia’s developing capital market as part of its plans for capital expansion. The company says it currently has paid-up capital of Br800 million and operates in petroleum-products distribution.
The registration of its existing shares therefore places a petroleum company within the same formal securities-registration system increasingly being used by banks, insurers and other publicly held companies.
Most of the Shares Are Existing Holdings
The September 30 registrations were dominated by existing shares.
Of the 241.16 million shares registered across the seven companies, 85.67 million are new shares, all associated with Cooperative Bank of Oromia and Berhan Bank.
The remaining 155.49 million shares are existing holdings, including Yetebaberut Petroleum’s 160,000 shares and the existing shares registered by the other companies.
| Category | Shares |
| Existing shares | 155,488,750 |
| New shares | 85,671,581 |
| Total | 241,160,331 |
This distinction is important. Registration of existing shares does not mean those shares have suddenly been offered to investors. In contrast, the new-share registrations at Cooperative Bank of Oromia and Berhan Bank relate to shares approved for offering under their respective registration statements.
Registration Is Not the Same as Listing
The ECMA registrations should also not be confused with admission to trading on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX).
Under the Capital Market Proclamation No. 1248/2021 and Public Offer and Trading of Securities Directive No. 1030/2024, securities offered to the public are subject to registration with ECMA. The Authority’s own guidance explains that registration is intended to ensure disclosure of material information about issuers, their securities and associated risks.
ECMA’s notices also state that registration should not be interpreted as an endorsement of an offer or a solicitation to buy securities.
For investors, therefore, the September 30 batch represents another expansion of Ethiopia’s formal securities-registration system, but the registration of a company’s shares does not by itself mean those shares are immediately available for trading.
The latest batch is notable for its combination of large financial institutions, insurance companies and a petroleum company, showing that the securities-registration framework is extending across different parts of Ethiopia’s corporate sector.