Archive for the 'Insurance' Category
August 25th, 2011 by Tom Minney
Kenya’s financial services holding company British-American Investments Company Ltd.(www.british-american.co.ke) issued a statement on 23 August outlining that its initial public offering (IPO) had only attracted 60.09% of the targeted KSh5.85 billion ($63million). The company owns 2 insurance firms and an asset manager and said it will reconsider its plans, which had included real estate and regional expansion, including in South Sudan.
The listing was previously detailed on this site here.
The company successful raised KSh3.5bn by selling 390.6m shares at KSh9.00 each. It meets the minimum 50% requirement in its prospectus to go ahead and with 28,000 shareholders is permitted to list on the Nairobi Stock Exchange main board. The shares are due to start trading on the Nairobi bourse on September 2.
According to stockbroking analysts, foreigners were largely absent due to risk aversion and worries about the Kenyan economy. Reuters quotes George Bodo, a research analyst at ApexAfrica. “The timing of the IPO came … when the global markets were risk averse and foreign investors were cutting risky positions internationally.” International problems include the US economy and the eurozone debt crisis. “It was unfortunate that the US debt crisis escalated right in the middle of the offer period, causing loss of appetite amongst institutional investors especially those outside Kenya,” said Group chairman Nicholas Ashford- Hodges, according to a report in “Business Daily” newspaper.
Foreign investors normally account for 70% of action on the NSE, but Reuters says they are less active and this has been made worse as the Kenyan currency declines against world currencies.
Local retail investors recorded the highest participation, taking up 70.9% including a 142% oversubscription of the 195m shares offered to them; qualified institutional investors hung back and took up 23.7%, just over a third of their 240.5m shares allocation; employees, agents and individual life policyholders snapped up 5.2% and foreign investors were almost absent, taking up only 0.3% of the offer, less than 1% of the 195mn shares reserved for them.
Analysts said the poor macroeconomic environment in Kenya did not augur well and inflation in Kenya hit 15.53% in July, driven by food and fuel prices. Rising interest rates have dissuaded many investors from seeking funds from banks to invest in shares and banks were also not willing to take shares as collateral. Gregory Waweru, an analyst at Kestrel Capital, was reported as saying: “There was competition for funds due to tight liquidity in the market.” Many investors have not yet realized substantail returns from East Africa’s biggest IPO which was Safaricom’s listing in 2008.
British American had planned to spend KSh2.5bn on property development and group managing director Benson Wairegi said in a statement: “The property development initiative where the bulk of the funds were targeted will be reviewed with a view to scaling it down.”
The company was also to set aside KSh1bn for regional expansion and KSh1.28 bn to expand its Kenyan operations, including the asset management business and to launch new funds for Kenyans in the diaspora as well as local and international investors and to comply with a proposed law for real estate investment trusts.
Mr Wairegi said the company may consider using bank loans to finance other planned projects: “The group has no other gearing despite the very strong balance sheet, which has become even stronger with the raising of KSh3.5bn. We shall, therefore, be able to easily leverage to implement all the profitable projects that have been lined up,” according to a report in “Business Daily”.
British American launched a Ugandan subsidiary in July and at the time the chairman said next stop would be to open offices in Rwanda, Tanzania and South Sudan.
July 15th, 2011 by Tom Minney
British American Investment Company (Kenya) Ltd (www.british-american.co.ke) launched its initial public offer (IPO) on 12 July, aiming to list on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. It aims to raise KES 5.58 billion (US$62.2 million) for expansion in the offer which is open until 5 August.
British American is issuing 650 m new ordinary shares at KES9 each. East African retail investors and foreign investors have each been allocated 30% of the shares, institutional investors 37% and employees, agents and individual life policy holders get the remaining 3%.
The offer was launched by Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He urged more people to use insurance products, and said market penetration is only 2.3% of GDP, according to Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation. The Standard newspaper reports him saying “I would like to take this opportunity to assure investors that Kenya is on a renewal path.”
Expansion: “missing middle” and new products
According to a report in Kenya’s Business Daily newspaper, of the money raised KES1 bn will be used for new investments and entry into the regional market while KES 1.3 bn would be used to grow its Kenyan insurance businesses and to expand its asset management business, including launching new funds for Kenyans in the diaspora as well as local and international investors.
The company will use KES2.5 bn to set up real estate investment trusts when the proposed law comes into effect and to develop property investments, including commercial buildings and housing units. KES750 m is to offset a loan from Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and KES 300 m is for offer expenses.
The paper reports British American’s chairman Nicholas Ashford-Hodges saying funds raised would be used to boost the company’s operations in Kenya and expand to regional markets: “This IPO will give British American an opportunity to increase the scope of its operations and widen its footprint.”
The company hopes to seize emerging opportunities through innovative products such as micro-insurance and bank-assurance. According to the Standard, managing director Benson Wairegi said the company is developing more products for the retail market and small and medium-sized businesses: “We seek to fundamentally redefine the scale and scope of the insurance sector in Kenya and the wider region. Our established model of scale, reach and multi-layered selling will also be extended to the retail market and SMEs in the wider geographical region.”
Regional expansion – Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda
On 7 July, BAT launched an insurance services business in Uganda through a subsidiary, Britam Insurance Company (Uganda) Limited, which has a capital of UGX5.6 bn ($2.2m). It also aims to open offices in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Southern Sudan.
Profit turnaround
British American is also the holding company of British American Insurance Company (Kenya) Ltd and British American Asset Managers Ltd (BAAM).
The market capitalization of the new company will be KES19.4bn ($216.3m), the highest among listed insurance firms. CfC Insurance Holdings, which was listed by introduction in April, was valued at KES6.85bn as at the close of trading yesterday, Jubilee Holdings Ltd at KES8.86bn, and Pan African Insurance at KES1.92bn, according to the paper.
Business Daily reports that British American Group posted KES2.7 bn in profits after tax last year, up from KES421 mn loss in 2009. The company made KES4.68 bn (KES 196m in 2009) in investment income and KES220 m (KES 32 m) in other income.
January 10th, 2011 by Tom Minney
Results have recently been released of the share offer of insurance company Alliance Assurances (www.allianceassurances.com) on the Algiers Stock Exchange (www.sgbv.dz). The share offer was open from 2 November until 1 December and was oversubscribed, with private individuals flocking to receive the shares. Alliance aims to be the first private company to list on the Bourse d’Alger. It was one of the last IPOs or public offerings of shares on the African stock exchanges in 2010.
According to the official announcement from the Bourse d’Alger total of 1,804,511 shares were subscribed, the full amount offered, at a price of 830 Algerian dinars (USD11.17) each.
IPO Offer allocation
The offer was allocated as follows:
Section A: 33.3% (600,000 shares) for individuals with Algerian nationality: received 1,338,346 shares of 74.17% of the total. There were a total of 5,374 applications of which 5,284 each applied for less than 3,591 each and were allocated in full, while the remaining 90 applicants got 3,591 or 3,592 shares each.
Section B: 28.5% (514,286 shares) for institutional investors: received 181,625 shares or 10.07%. There were 4 applicants of which 3 each applied for less than 60,240 and were allocated in full and one applied for more and received 60,240 shares.
Section C: 28.5% (514,285 shares) for Algerian companies: received 186,022 shares or 10.31%, all who applied were allocated.
Section C2: Subscription Right, allocated 90,226 shares, received 100% of the allocation, all who applied were allocated.
Section D: 2.37% (42,857 shares) for insurance brokers and were allocated 3,635 shares (0.2%), all who applied were allocated.
Section E: 2.37% (42,857 shares) for the company’s employees across the 35 Algerian provinces, of which 4,657 shares were subscribed, 0.26%, all who applied were allocated.
The financial adviser for the offering is Nomad Capital (www.nomadcapital.com – website still says “under construction”), with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Hadj Ali.
According to a previous report, General Manager Hacen Khelifati said that the company would also sell 30% to an unnamed European company in a separate transaction, which awaits regulators’ approval. He was also reported as saying that the company would benefit from government incentives to encourage listing including a 5-year tax holiday on profits from the operation in order to raise new capital for development and to help revitalise the Algiers Bourse.
Alliance plans to use the capital to meet new regulatory requirements and to set up 2 new subsidiaries:
• A real estate asset manager to maximize value for Alliance and third-party investors;
• A venture capital vehicle dedicated to investments in sectors related to the insurance field.
Alliance Assurances already has two subsidiaries: ATA, and a dedicated IT engineering subsidiary named ORAFINA.
Alliance Insurances is a joint-stock company created in July 2005 and says it is now a multiline insurance company with more than 300,000 insured clients and total net premiums in 2009 of 2.8 billion Algerian Dinars with a net profit of 312 million Algerian Dinars, providing a 39% return on equity, according to a press release.
About the Bourse d’Alger
The Société de la Gestion de la Bourse des Valeurs Mobilières was set up in 1997 under a 1993 law and started trading in 1999. The bourse website says the listed equities are Egh el Aurassi (state-owned hotel) and Saidal (state-owned pharmaceutical company) while the listed debt securities are Algerie Telecom, Spa DAHLI and Sonelgaz securities. Trading takes place twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday mornings for two hours.
December 4th, 2009 by Tom Minney
A Global Index Insurance Facility has been launched as an insurance scheme to help compensate for certain catastrophic events, depending on their severity. For example, insurance will be paid out in the event of a wind storm of a certain category, drought defined as rainfall below a certain agreed figure, or an earthquake registering a certain magnitude on the Richter scale.
Index-linked insurance products eliminate the need for insurance companies to individually verify claims, reducing transaction costs and making it easier for them to offer products and services in rural communities and in frontier regions, where insurance is rarely available.
The International Finance Corporation (www.ifc.org), a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with the European Commission and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on 2 December in Kenya launched a programme to help farmers and others in developing countries more easily access this insurance.
Bernard Rey, Head of Operations of the European Union Delegation to Kenya, said, “As the threats posed by climate change increase, the GIIF will help people in Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific regions reduce their vulnerability to external shocks and natural disasters and thereby support their livelihoods.”
Jean Philippe Prosper, IFC Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, says in a press release: “The GIIF will help protect farmers and vulnerable communities against natural disasters that can wipe out their livelihoods and trap them in poverty. IFC is committed to helping extend financial products and services to places where the private sector is at the early stages of development, creating more opportunities for people that need them the most.”
The facility is backed by a programme of advisory services and capacity building that will provide funding to raise the capacity of insurance companies to provide index-based insurance, help develop such products, and work to create a favorable regulatory environment by advising governments on possible regulatory changes.
The European Commission has committed €24.5 million as the first donor to a trust fund to finance the advisory services support. The fund is also supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
IFC supports private sector development, mobilizes private capital, and provides advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. New investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009.It is seeking to increase its capital increase and create more opportunity for the poor in developing countries, including helping farmers and others access insurance.