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ABC raises over P300m to capitalise banking subsidiaries
 by Zeph Kajevu
06-08-2012
ABC Holdings Limited (ABCH), the regional banking group, said it has successfully raised US $50 million (about P384.6 million) through a rights’ issue.
Group Chief Executive Officer Douglas Munatsi said the move is a historic occasion for the Group and positions them well for the future.
“The funds will be utilised for the capitalisation of the Banking subsidiaries, which have registered phenomenal growth in the last couple of years,” he said.
Munatsi noted that retail banking is not only a people and systems intensive business but is also capital hungry.
“Now that the first phase of capitalization is behind us, we intend to raise an additional US $75 million - $100 million by way of tier two equity, to further bolster the operations,” he added.
In a press release dated August 2, 2012 South African-based BancABC Group Head-Marketing & Communications, Leah Banda, said there have been some major changes within the shareholder base which has seen German-listed African Development Corporation (ADC) taking a direct shareholding of 41.7 percent.
In addition, ADC has agreed to warehouse additional shares as a financing mechanism for the executive management team as a result its effective shareholding will be 50.4 percent.
The Group is very excited about this development as it will result in alignment of interests between management and ADC, which is now the anchor shareholder of ABCH.
Following the capital raise all the banking subsidiaries will either be in the top tier or upper second tier of banks in the various Countries that the Group operates in.
The Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Beki Moyo advised that the capital levels for the various subsidiaries will increase to BancABC Botswana US $53 million, BancABC Zimbabwe $52 million, BancABC Mozambique $32 million, BancABC Zambia $26 million and BancABC Tanzania $20 million. All the operations are fully compliant with the regulatory capital requirements, Banda stated.
BancABC, which aims to become Africa’s preferred banking partner by offering world-class financial solutions is registered in Botswana, which has a primary listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. BancABC operates in Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe and has a group services office located in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Historically, BancABC was a merchant bank offering a diverse range of services. These included wealth management, corporate banking, treasury services, leasing, asset management and stock broking. The Group is now expanding into the Retail space.
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