Bank Windhoek to list on 20 June

By: CHAMWE KAIRA

BANK WINDHOEK Holdings plans to list on the Namibian Stock Exchange on 20 June, the bank announced on Wednesday.

The company said in a statement it is going to list all its issued ordinary shares.
“The listing will provide an opportunity to existing bank shareholders to unlock value through trading of their BWH shares on the NSX and more importantly, the general public and institutional investors will be able to acquire BWH shares and participate in the ownership of the group. This is the largest primary listing since the establishment of the NSX,”  the statement said.
The public offer was released yesterday. “For the convenience of our clients and the public, Bank Windhoek will have dedicated and trained staff members in each of its full-service branches to assist with the completion of application forms to subscribe for shares. A step-by-step information leaflet is also available at all branches that explains the process to apply and pay for shares and the documents required to accompany the application form,” the company said.
The public offer will close on 13 June and the final allocation of shares will only take place after that date.
Andrew Jansen, managing director of  Simonis Storm Securities told The Namibian that  given that there are 26 companies listed on the NSX overall index and  seven on the local board, the listing of Bank Windhoek will increase the tradable assets by just under one percent on the overall index but said local tradable assets will increase by 14.3 percent, which he said is hugely significant.
“So for the NSX this means more assets available for trading. For Namibia, Namibians will have a chance to participate in the wealth that is being created in the country by having the opportunity to own shares in Bank Windhoek,” he said.
Commenting on the attempts in the past three years by ABSA  of South Africa and its majority shareholder,  Barclays Bank to buy a stake in Bank Windhoek’s parent company, Capricorn Investment  Holdings,  Jansen said this can not be ruled out in future.
“I think the Bank of Namibia’s request for all Namibian banks to list played a major role in their decision to list. I do not think this will rule out any future deal with a potential buyer like Barclays, however that will be subject to approval from the regulators,” he said.
He said from his understanding,  Bank  Windhoek was planning a public offer of around N$200 million to N$300 million. “This will potentially build their available capital,” he said.

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