29 October 2009
Kampala — HOUSING Finance Bank is to list onto the Uganda Securities Exchange by 2011, Nicholas Okwir, the managing director, has announced.
"We have got clearance from the board, so the initial programme will start. "We are targeting 2011, but as we look at the market, it could be an earlier date. "The Government would like to offload most of its shares onto the market," he said.
Okwir added that another shareholder, National Social Security Fund (NSSF), would also be interested in offloading its shares. The current shareholding of the bank comprises of NSSF, 50%, the Government, 49.2% and National Housing and Construction Company, .8%.
Okwir said the bank unveiled a five-year business plan for 2009-2013 that will see it open more branches, focus on risk management and develop strategic partnership for long-term financing.
The bank on Tuesday also launched the fourth tranche for its sh30b notes programme. The sh5b tranche carries a floating rate of 200 basis points (2%) above the 182-day Treasury Bill.
Okwir told a cross section of investors at a breakfast meeting held at Kampala Serena hotel that the proceeds from the note will be used to fund the development of the bank's mortgage business. He added that the bank's principle business was mortgage lending, currently holding the largest share of the market.
Data shows that the bank's mortgage book stands at sh152b by the end of September.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
