Sebastian R. Freiku
2 October 2008
Kumasi — UT FINANCIAL Services Limited (UFSL), Ghana's most dynamic financial institution, has given the general public the opportunity to be rich, by way of investment through shares, with the launching of its initial public offer of 90,293,000 ordinary shares at 30Gp per share, to raise GH¢27,087,900 to expand its operations.
The shares on offer consist of 80,293,000 shares being sold by existing shareholders, and the remaining 10,000,000 ordinary shares are additional shares, being sold for the recapitalisation of the company.
The total shares on offer represent 42.85% of the post offer outstanding shares of 210,732,500.
About GH¢3 million, of the total target, would be used to recapitalise the operations of the company, while shareholders use the remaining GH¢24 million to explore other areas of business ventures. Sale of shares closes on October 17, 2008.
Explaining the motive behind going public with its shares, Capt. Prince Kofi Amoabeng (rtd), Chief Executive Officer of the company, said UTFS wants to improve its liquidity and list on the Ghana Stock Exchange, and give valued investors, seen as the biggest stakeholders, the chance to own a piece of what they helped the company to build.
It would also help increase capital, in anticipation of the new capital requirement, as well as afford employees the opportunity to own a piece of their success, and also create the opportunity for the general public to enjoy the growth of the company, over the past 11 years of its existence.
Capt. Ebenezer Kweku Budu Koomson (rtd), Executive Director of the company in charge of Operations, indicated at the Ashanti Regional launch of the initial public offer, at the Miklin Hotel on Tuesday, that the company intended to, as a strategic decision, expand its services throughout the country, by opening nine more branches by 2010.
He disclosed that the company, which currently operates in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi, would commence business in the Brong Ahafo Regional capital of Sunyani, by November this year, and intends spreading to Ho, Nkawkaw, Tamale, and all regions in two years.
According to the Operations Director, the advent of oil in Ghana, which is capital intensive, was a big challenge to the company Capt. Koomson said the company would take advantage of the Northern Regional Development Plan, the influx of Nigerian and international tourism, and the stability of the economy, to venture into other areas in countries with high Ghanaian concentrations.
Mrs. Pearl Esua-Mensah, Executive Director (Finance and Administration), said the company's growth was phenomenal, and that the company would continue to experience increases in the areas of loans and advances, interest advances, profits and dividends, and all facets of its operations, to create value for investors.
As at 2007 loans and advances stood at GH¢52.8 million having risen from GH¢8.7 million in 2003 to GH¢46.4 in 2006.
Mrs. Esua-Mensah further disclosed that return on shareholders equity was 50% with total dividend payout of GH¢2 million.
She said the UTFS was expecting an increase of 25% year after year, and that loans and advance would rise to GH¢72.8 this year and hit GH¢174 by 2012.
Prof. Theophilus Commey Ankrah, a Lecturer of the School of Medical Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, and an investor in the UTFS since 2004, described the company as dependable, reliable and very friendly, and that it had the best deals for prospective clients.
Lady Julia Osei Tutu, wife the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and Nana Wife Akenten III, Offinsohene, graced the launching ceremony, which was presided over by Baffour Asare Owusu Amankwatia V, the Bantamahene.
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