Stanbic Bank shares here at last
YESTERDAY was the first day Stanbic Bank shares traded on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).
YESTERDAY was the first day Stanbic Bank shares traded on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).
In November, the bank offered about 1 billion shares or a 20% stake for sale to the public at sh70 a share. Going by the results of the allocation, it was shown that bids were worth three times the sh70b of shares on offer.
This interest was again confirmed in yesterday’s trading. Trading started at sh150 peaked at sh240 before closing the day at almost thrice the Initial Public Offer price at sh205.
Industry sources believe there will be more trading in the shares in next week’s three trading sessions.
It can be said that yesterday’s trading is the successful culmination of a very tortuous route for the bank in its bid to regain its respectability.
In the eighties the bank, formerly Uganda Commercial bank was brought to its knees under the weight of bad debts. An unsuccessful privatisation of the bank set it up for the near takeover by the defunct Greenland Bank. The bank lurched from scandal to scandal, sinking deeper and deeper into trouble with every new management team before a controlling interest was sold to Stanbic bank in 2002.
With a committed management and almost no interference from the political elite, the bank has put its inefficient, corrupt and stodgy reputation behind it. And with the sale of shares, the bank has secured its place as the country’s dominant financial institution.
We may rue the fact that the bank is controlled by South African interests, but we will have only ourselves to blame as we failed dismally to manage UCB ourselves.
It should be a lesson to government that one, selling shares is a very useful means of privatisation and two, that selling shares can only be successful with well managed companies.
The Government should take a leaf from the Stanbic share sell and strategies how to restructure other state owned companies and sell shares.
In November, the bank offered about 1 billion shares or a 20% stake for sale to the public at sh70 a share. Going by the results of the allocation, it was shown that bids were worth three times the sh70b of shares on offer.
This interest was again confirmed in yesterday’s trading. Trading started at sh150 peaked at sh240 before closing the day at almost thrice the Initial Public Offer price at sh205.
Industry sources believe there will be more trading in the shares in next week’s three trading sessions.
It can be said that yesterday’s trading is the successful culmination of a very tortuous route for the bank in its bid to regain its respectability.
In the eighties the bank, formerly Uganda Commercial bank was brought to its knees under the weight of bad debts. An unsuccessful privatisation of the bank set it up for the near takeover by the defunct Greenland Bank. The bank lurched from scandal to scandal, sinking deeper and deeper into trouble with every new management team before a controlling interest was sold to Stanbic bank in 2002.
With a committed management and almost no interference from the political elite, the bank has put its inefficient, corrupt and stodgy reputation behind it. And with the sale of shares, the bank has secured its place as the country’s dominant financial institution.
We may rue the fact that the bank is controlled by South African interests, but we will have only ourselves to blame as we failed dismally to manage UCB ourselves.
It should be a lesson to government that one, selling shares is a very useful means of privatisation and two, that selling shares can only be successful with well managed companies.
The Government should take a leaf from the Stanbic share sell and strategies how to restructure other state owned companies and sell shares.