NATIONAL MICROFINANCE BANK SHARES RALLY AFTER BOND LISTING

The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Industries, Trade & Investments, Dr. Adelhem Meru, rings a bell to officially symbolize the listing of 41.4bn/- NMB Retail Bond on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in the city on Tuesday. He is flanked by DSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Moremi Marwa (left) and NMB Bank Managing Director, Ms. Ineke Bussemaker.

National Microfinance Bank (NMB) shares rallied by 5.2 per cent after listing its three-year 41.4bn/- bond on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) on Tuesday.

The listing automatically pushed up NMB share price by 5.2 per cent yesterday after opening the week trading at 1,710/- a piece to close the market at 1,800/-.

The listing termed ‘Bell Ringing Ceremony’ was graced by the Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Adelhelm Meru. The PS hailed the move and urged other investors in the private sector to join the bandwagon of raising capital through markets.

“This retail bond is expected to facilitate development of a vibrant retail bond market and open doors for other companies, and municipal bodies to explore new methods to meet financing needs,” he said.

NMB Managing Director Ms Ineke Bussemaker, said the issuance of the bond was part of the bank strategy to diversify its funding sources. “The three-year bond was not only a major development in the sector but also in the retail market, as NMB became the first bank to be oversubscribed by over double at the initial target,” she said.

Ms Bussemaker further added that the overwhelming response to the NMB bond reinforces the need for banks to play a bigger role in developing the local capital markets as well as promoting financial inclusion.

The listed bond carries an interest rate of 13 per cent per annum and is set to mature in three years. It was oversubscribed by 107 per cent. The proceeds of the bond issue will be used for on-lending to the bank’s customers who include individuals, micro, small and medium sized enterprises as well as large corporate and Government institutions.

DSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr Moremi Marwa said the success of the bond demonstrates that investors are aware of the opportunities in the capital markets.

“This demonstrates that the public have the capability and the appetite to support those who need to raise capital,” Mr Marwa said. NMB has 176 branches and more than 600 ATMs across the nation and its operation covers 98 per cent of districts in the country. NMB has over 2 million customers and employs over 3,000 staff.

Daily News