It was announced in 2019 that FDH Bank, which is a subsidiary of FDH Financial Holdings Limited, was to be floated on the stock exchange in Malawi (MSE) by the 30th June 2020. The public offering of the bank opens a unique opportunity for the citizens of Malawi to own this bank.
Dr Thomson Mpinganjira, founder of FDH Bank, urged Malawians to start saving at the time of the announcement to take advantage of this investment opportunity. The move came as part of the fulfilment of an agreement made between the Malawi government and FDH Bank, set in motion when FDH Bank acquired an 80% stake in Malawi Savings Bank, previously wholly owned by the government.
The contract signed between FDH Bank and the government initially outlined plans to float the bank on the MSE within three years, which would have been by 2018. However, Dr Thomson Mpinganjira stated that a portfolio of bad loans with an estimated value of MK40 billion had delayed the process, as the bank needed to clean up the books before the public offering could commence. The bank took 2019 as a year to observe where things were and return to profitability before issuing shares to the public.
The initial listing of the shares in FDH Bank on the MSE started with an IPO price of MK10 per share. Before the first day was over, the share prices had already increased by 50%, reaching MK15 per share.
The bank is the fifth to be listed on the MSE and has increased the volume of market counters to 16. This will provide a valuable venture for the bank’s shareholders as well as helping to diversify products on the local shares market.
A total of 1.38 billion shares were issued, representing a 20% stake in the bank. Representatives of FDH commented on the bank’s desire to offer these shares specifically to locals, so they could partly own the home-grown bank.
