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National Investment Trust Limited (NITL), the country’s first collective investment vehicle, is bracing for public listing on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) through an offer of 89 million shares from Wednesday.
NITL director Dannie Kamwaza said during the official launch of the public offer in Blantyre on Friday that if all the 89 million shares are taken up by the December 8 closing date, NITL will immediately proceed to seek full listing on the MSE.
The shares will be available to the public at K1.75 per share compared to the “over-the-counter” market between licensed MSE brokers where the shares trade at K1.55 each.
Kamwaza said as a way of encouraging Malawian participation, government has made available an K80 million loan facility under the Special Fund currently being managed by Trust Finance Limited.
He said application forms for the loan facility can be obtained from banks and brokers across the country.
Privatisation Commission executive director Maziko Sauti Phiri said the minimum number of shares one can buy is 500 and in multiples of 100 thereafter. He said the 500 shares would cost an individual K875.
During the December 2002 first public offering of 44 million NITL shares, the Trust made an undertaking to achieve a full listing on MSE by mid-October 2005 hence the current offer of 89 million shares.
Sauti-Phiri said NITL shares’ good performance on the market has prompted the current public offer which, he said, would see the Trust listing earlier on the MSE than October 2005.
NITL director Sean O’Neill said the Trust’s dividends have been rising since May 2003 when a 10 tambala interim dividend was paid followed by 16 tambala in December of the same year. In May this year, NITL declared a 15 tambala interim dividend and has proposed a 30 tambala dividend this December.
MSE sources indicated that should all NITL shares be taken up, the listing may take place between February and May next year.
NITL has been in operation for two years under the management of First Merchant Bank and NITL’s board of directors.
NITL holds a diverse portfolio of nine investments both in listed and unlisted companies and its investment portifolio totalled K316 million as at September 30 this year.
When listed on the MSE, NITL will increase to six the number of enterprises brought on the stock exchange through the privatisation process after Commercial Bank of Malawi (now Stanbic Bank), Nico Holdings Limited, Sugar Corporation of Malawi Limited, Packaging Industries Malawi Limited and National Bank of Malawi.
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