DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 22 -- TANZANIAS stock market is having the kind of year that attracts headlines.

The benchmark All Share Index has climbed by roughly a third since January, market capitalisation has pushed past 36tri/- and the number of investor accounts opened last year alone jumped by more than 300 per cent.

On the surface, the figures suggest a frontier market coming of age. Beneath them, however, the behaviour of investors, the liquidity of individual counters and the sustainability of some dividend payments raise deeper questions about the quality of the markets growth. Start with who is buying.

A large proportion of new accounts opened in the past year reportedly belong to younger investors, many of whom are entering the mar...