Shares of Sefalana Holdings have enjoyed huge gains at the Botswana Stock Exchange after the group’s manufacturing subsidiary, Food Botswana clinched a lucrative tender to supply food products to the government.
The award of the tender, whose amount has not been revealed, was however surrounded by controversy as others bidders queried the government tendering processing which they deemed unfair.
Sefalana Holdings group Managing Director, Chandra Chauhan, confirmed to The Telegraph in a previous interview that over the years, his company has been awarded the tender to supply government with Tsabana and Malutu which government in turn issues out in local clinics and health facilities across the country.
Without mentioning the concerned companies names, Chauhan said, “The two companies allege ‘favouritism’ on our side from the government despite the fact that we tender fairly just like them. The fact of the matter is that no company at the moment can be able to handle this render as it requires machinery which we are the only one having it.”
Chauhan says he suspects that the concerned companies want to import the stuff from South Africa if awarded the tender then supply it to government which he feels will not be sustainable business model.
He further confirmed that the queries have led to delay in the awarding of the 2014/15 contract which he said his company awaits its outcome.
The retailer which also involves trading of commercial motors with brands TATA, MAN and Honda as part of their business is expected to conclude an acquisition of 12 stores in Namibia. Sefalana recently released a pleasing set of financial results with profit after tax increasing by 48 percent year on year.
Investor’s recent bullishness on Sefalana stock pushed it to a record 12 month high of 733 thebe per share, reflecting a 17 thebe gain by close of business at the stock exchange on Friday.
Meanwhile still at the stock exchange, the Domestic Companies Index (DCI) went into the fourth week of trading on a downward spiral as a result of a decision by some of the investors to cash-in their profits.
Capital markets data from the stock exchange for the week that ended on Friday shows that only 3.2 million shares worth P24 million exchanged hands by close of business in the evening thus resulting in a loss of 68 basis points.
The data indicate that most trades were generated from the local bourse’s large caps which entail insurance giant, BIHL as well as micro lender, Letshego and banker, FNBB.
Most investors continues with their close monitoring of the capital markets as the hectic reporting period for most of the domestic counters nears end.
