Nairobi — Jubilee Holdings has become the third company in East Africa to be listed on the region's three exchanges.

Trading in the insurance giant's shares has begun on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE). Jubilee joins Kenya Airways and East African Breweries as the only cross-listed firms in Dar es Salaam, the Uganda Securities Exchange and the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Chairman Mr Nizar Juma said the approval of the listing by Tanzania authorities how gave the company an East African outlook.

"We look forward to the day when a big number of our shareholders will be spread across East Africa," he said, adding that more than 600 Tanzanians had already bought into Jubilee since the cross-listing mid this week. The move brought the number of companies listed on the recently automated Dar exchange to ten.

Speaking on the first day of trading in the company's shares, DSE Chief Executive Mr Jonathan Njau expressed confidence that the new listing would increase secondary trading at the bourse.

"This is an indication that private sector involvement in Tanzania is growing," he said. The 69-year-old Jubilee Holdings reported Sh470 million in profits before tax last year, up a third from 2004.