FPC to list after successful IPO
Business
Mr Chandra Chauhan; Group MD, Sefalana group
The FAR Property Company (FPC) has announced its Initial Public Offering (IPO) results for its imminent listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) that will see a total of 380 million linked units listed on the main domestic counter of the BSE. For the public offer, 40 million subscription linked units were issued for the IPO and private placement. The 20 million linked units available to the members of the public had a 1.2 oversubscription. There were 646 applicants for 24 035 700 linked units for the offer price of P2.57.
The remaining 20 million linked units will be allotted and issued to institutional investors in a private placement. The 40 million units sold are an addition to the other 40 million linked units that are to be sold by the founders immediately after listing.
“Applications for 4 035 700 linked units were received from members of the public. Applications for 20 000 000 linked units were received from institutional investors. Members of the public will be allotted linked units equal to their applications, i.e. will receive the number of linked units applied for in full. The institutional investors are allotted 15 964 300 linked units, allotted amongst them, in proportion to their applications,” read part of the press release.
FPC is expected to list on the 4th of May, joining the other 5 existing property companies and bringing the total number of listed companies on the main board to 22. Furthermore, FPC with its issued 380 million units at an offer price will debut with a market capitalisation P976.6 million, making it the 3rd most valuable listed property company on the BSE.
The founders of FPC have now become legends in successfully listing companies; their maiden listing was a resounding success as they listed Choppies, first in the BSE and subsequently in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In this listing, the founders are looking at a windfall of about P102 million while the company will also pocket the same. The reason for listing the company was to raise funds for ongoing projects and other future projects.
Prior to the IPO, FPC had 340 million linked units with founders Ramachandran Ottapathu and Farouk Ismail each holding 170 million linked units. In preparation for the listing, 40 million new units were issued bringing the total number of linked units to 380 million. From the newly added 40 million units, an offer was made to the public to apply for 20 million linked units, while the other 20 million linked units was for private placement. The issued 40 million units will raise in excess of P100 million for the Company and a concurrent sale by the existing shareholders of the Company of 40 000 000 linked units to realise approximately P100 million for the sellers.
According to the company prospectus, the founders have sold, subject to the result of the IPO, 40 million linked units to selected institutional investors at the offer price per linked unit. During the book building stages, 40 million linked units were offered for sale by the founders and the 40 million subscription linked units offered for subscription by the company i.e. a total of 80 million linked units were offered to the placees. Linked units in excess of 95 million were taken up, representing an oversubscription of 20%. The oversubscription was a signal that there was demand for FPC’s linked units, prompting the company to have a public offer constituting of the IPO and private placement.
Following the IPO, the listing, and the subsequent sale of units by the founders, as set out in the prospectus, the issued units of the Company will be held as follows: Ramachandran Ottapathu and Farouk Ismail as the founders will now hold 79% of the company as each man holds 150 million linked units, representing 39.5% for each founder. The public will now hold 20.7% which represents 78 981 500 linked units, while directors and their associates lay claim to 0.2% which is 768 500 units and the last 0.1% representing 250 000 units is held by associates of Ramachandran Ottapathu.
The FAR Property Company was founded in 2010 to accommodate the Choppies Group needs as the retail giant was in need of properties to rent during its exponential growth and expansion era. The company then began its string of property acquisitions, in the process the company has acquired 182 properties in Botswana and has acquired 23 properties in South Africa. Although, the initial plan was for the properties to serve the needs of Choppies group, the development of the Choppies brand and market position in Botswana attracted the public to premises occupied by a Choppies outlet.
This led to demand by other providers of consumer services to seek accommodation for their outlets at the location of Choppies outlets. The Company became less reliant on the Choppies Group for take up of space in its properties, and the size and nature of the properties changed. The company’s property portfolio has grown over the past 6 years; by 2015 the company had P1.3 billion assets, and the company brought in P92 million in revenues in 2015.
Business
Stargems Group establishes Training Center in BW
Internationally-acclaimed diamond manufacturing company StarGems Group has established the Stargems Diamond Training Center which will be providing specialized training in diamond manufacturing and evaluation.
The Stargems Diamond Training Institute is located at the Stargems Group Botswana Unit in Gaborone.
“In accordance with the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS) which holds the principle that through education and skills development as well as the strategic alignment between national ambitions and individual capabilities, Botswana will become a prosperous, productive and innovative nation due to the quality and efficacy of its citizenry. The Training Centre will provide a range of modules in theory and in practice; from rough diamond evaluation to diamond grading and polishing for Batswana, at no cost for eight weeks. The internationally- recognized certificate offered in partnership with Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Training School presents invaluable opportunities for Batswana to access in the diamond industry locally and internationally. The initiative is an extension of our Corporate Social Investment to the community in which we operate,” said Vishal Shah, Stargems Group Managing Director, during the launch of the Stargems Diamond Training Center.
In order to participate in this rare opportunity, interested candidates are invited to submit a police clearance certificate and a BGCSE certificate only to the Stargems offices. Students who excel in these programs will have the chance to be onboarded by the Stargems Group. This serves as motivation for them to go through this training with a high level of seriousness.
“Community empowerment is one of our CSR principles. We believe that businesses can only thrive when their communities are well taken of. We are hoping that our presence will be impactful to various communities and economies. In the six countries that we are operating in, we have contributed through dedicating 10% of our revenues during COVID-19 to facilitate education, donating to hospitals and also to NGOs committed to supporting women and children living with HIV. One key issue that we are targeting in Botswana is the rate of unemployment amongst the youth. We are looking forward to working closely with the government and other relevant authorities to curb unemployment,” said Shah.
Currently, Stargems Group has employed 117 Batswana and they are looking forward to growing the numbers to 500 as the company grows. Majority of the employees will be graduates from the Stargems Diamond Training Center. This initiation has been received with open arms by the general public and stakeholders. During the launch, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Honorable Lefoko Moagi, stated that the ministry fully endorses Stargems Diamond Training and will work closely with the Group to support and grow the initiative.
“As a ministry, we see this as an game changer that is aligned with one of the United Nations’ Six Priority Sustainable Development Goals, which is to Advance Opportunity and Impact for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). What Stargems Group is launching today will have a huge impact on the creation of employment in Botswana. An economy’s productivity rises as the number of educated workers increases as its skilled workmanship increases. It is not a secret that low skills perpetuate poverty and widen the inequality gap, therefore the development of skills has the potential to contribute significantly to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability and helping the country become more competitive. We are grateful to see the emergence of industry players such as Stargems Group who have strived to create such opportunities that mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy,” said the Minister of Minerals and Energy.
Business
Food import bill slightly declines
The latest figures released by Statistics Botswana this week shows that food import bill for Botswana slightly declined from around P1.1 billion in November 2022 to around P981 million in December during the same year.
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Business
Moody’s Reaffirms African Trade Insurance’s A3 Rating & Revises Outlook to Positive
Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has affirmed the A3 insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) for the fifth consecutive year and changed the outlook from stable to positive.
Moody’s noted that the change in outlook to positive reflects the strong growth in ATI’s membership base – that has resulted in improved portfolio diversification, strengthened capital adequacy, and the good profitability despite the challenging operating environment. In addition, ATI benefits from its preferred creditor status (PCS) amongst sovereign member states which protects it from the risk of default by member sovereigns through securing recoveries against claims paid on guarantees.
The strong membership and equity growth are some of the key considerations for the consistent reinstatement of ATI’s A/Stable rating by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s rating, over the years. Also supporting the rating affirmation are; consistent improvement in financial performance, commitment of its shareholders who continue to uphold the preferred creditor status, its high quality and conservative investment portfolio as well as strong relationships with a number of global reinsurers that provide significant risk-bearing capacity.
With the change in outlook to “positive”, ATI is now better placed to provide enhanced support to its member countries, attract additional shareholding and grow its portfolio. The positive outlook is an indication that if ATI continues to demonstrate its strong underwriting performance and ability to recover claims under the preferred creditor arrangements, among other factors, an upward pressure towards an upgrade may be generated. The Moody’s press release can be accessed from here
Commenting on the rating, Africa Trade Insurance Chief Executive Officer Manuel Moses said: “This positive revision is in line with our 2023 – 2027 strategic objectives in which we set to improve our rating outlook to positive in the first year, and achieve an upgrade of at least “AA”/Stable rating by both Moody’s and S&P within this Strategic Plan period. We aim to achieve this by doubling our exposures and increasing our capital to more than USD1 billion.”
ATI’s mandate is to provide trade-credit and political risk insurance, as well as other risk mitigation products to its member countries and related public and private sector actors. These insurance products not only directly encourage and facilitate foreign direct investment as well as local private sector investment in our member countries, but also contribute to intra- and extra-African trade.
About The African Trade Insurance Agency
ATI was founded in 2001 by African States to cover trade and investment risks of companies doing business in Africa. ATI predominantly provides Political Risk, Credit Insurance and, Surety Insurance. Since inception, ATI has supported US$78 billion worth of investments and trade into Africa. For over a decade, ATI has maintained an ‘A/Stable’ rating for Financial Strength and Counterparty Credit by Standard & Poor’s, and in 2019, ATI obtained an A3/Stable rating from Moody’s, which has now been revised to A3/Positive.