Standard Bank Plc, the lead transaction advisor in the recent successful IPO of Airtel, says it is well-positioned to support capital raising ventures.
The bank’s Head of Investment Banking, Enock Kondowe said in a post-listing statement of Airtel that Standard Bank has deep understanding of the Malawi’s capital markets and sector expertise.
“Standard bank has an excellent understanding of the Malawian and African investment landscape. Our Pan African reach also gives us an advantage as we are able to tap into world class institutional knowledge and expertise to deliver impactful solutions to our clients,” he said.
According to Kondowe at MWK27.92 billion, the Airtel offer is Malawi’s largest IPO to date. Under the IPO, 1.65 billion shares were offered for sale for MWK20.94bn with an over-allotment option of MWK6.98bn (550 million shares).
Kondowe highlighted that it is exciting to see that the IPO was oversubscribed by 34% with a total raise of MWK28.01bn and the over-allotment option was fully exercised allowing for local investors the opportunity for greater participation up to the regulatory set limit of 20% in compliance with the Communications Act 2016.
Kondowe further stated that “Standard Bank supports its customers by acting as a trusted investment advisor to support their capital and funding needs.
We are not just supporting corporations to raise capital but also developing the capital markets by providing more alternative investment homes for both retail and institutional investors to place their funds.”
The Airtel IPO saw a total of 8,067 subscribers where 85% were retail investors and 15% were institutional investors. In addition, 4,573 of the total subscribers applied through Airtel Money.
“We are pleased to pioneer the first ever IPO to use a digital platform to reach out to subscribers and enhance financial inclusion by allowing retail investors without bank accounts in rural areas to participate.
We expect digital platforms to play an increasing role in growing the participation of retail investors on the stock market”.
Kondowe ties the bank’s capabilities in handling advisory and capital raising solutions to its legacy in the industry and the continental footprint.
Standard Bank, which was listed on MSE on June 29, 1998, became the first commercial bank to trade its stocks on the bourse. The MSE has four commercial banks in total.
The Airtel Malawi listing brought to 15 the number of companies listed on the local stock exchange.
The bank also played a similar role in helping prop up capital requirements for Malawian property firms, Mpico and Icon.
