I&M subsidiary to go public in Rwanda

Corporate News

An I&M Bank branch in Kigali. FILE PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA 

By KABONA ESIARA

In Summary

• The Rwandan government has instructed transaction advisors to the I&M Bank Rwanda IPO to list within 90 days.

The Rwandan subsidiary of I&M Holdings is set to go public with the Rwandan government selling its 19.8 per cent stake in an initial public offering expected to be completed later this year.

Director general for financial sector development at the country's Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning Eric Rwigamba said the date of the IPO will be announced soon.

The Rwandan government has instructed transaction advisors to the I&M Bank Rwanda IPO to list within 90 days.

“The agreements have been drafted and are being reviewed. In two weeks, we must have signed them,” said one of the transaction advisors.

Rwanda had planned to sell its stake in the bank — a subsidiary of I&M Holdings listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange — in October last year but leadership changes that saw former chief executive Anand Sanjeev move to Atlas Mara’s Bank Populaire Rwanda made it suspend the sale.

A consortium of brokerage firms including Baraka Capital Rwanda, Baraka Capital Uganda and Core Securities Tanzania and Dyer and Blair Investment Bank are the lead transaction advisors.

“The lead receiving bank is KCB Rwanda, the legal advisors are Trust Law Chambers, Deloitte & Touche LLP is the reporting accountants and KCB is share registrar,” a source following the deal told The EastAfrican.

Listing a blue chip company like I&M Bank Rwanda — the third largest in Rwanda by asset size and one of the profitable banks — will help raise investors’ appetite for shares in the bank.

The 2015 full year financial results released by I&M Bank Rwanda managing director Robin Bairstow indicate that the bank’s net profit increased from Rwf4.5 billion ($5.7 million) in 2014 to Rwf5 billion ($6.4 million) last year.

The RSE is optimistic about the IPO, saying the bank stocks have remained firm, drawing lessons from Bank of Kigali.

“More products mean, more liquidity on the market, more liquidity means investors are creating wealth,” said Celestin Rwabukumba, chief executive of the RSE