By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE) – Herbert Wigwe, group managing director/chief executive officer (GMDCEO) of Africa’s top tier lender, Access Bank Plc said on Thursday the bank will pay dividend in 2015.
Wigwe affirmed this during the bank’s “Facts behind the Offer” presentation at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
“We will pay dividend to investors of the company this year,” he said.
The CEO of Access Bank says as an institution, the bank has always kept to its promise made to investors.
“As an institution, we have kept every promise we have made to our investors, as we started approaching the offer, the local investors appeared to be interested in it, most of them are standing up for us and so what I can assure you is as big as this number is, they have the wherewithal towards the rights issue,” Wigwe added.
The Access Bank’s CEO assured investors and other stakeholders that the bank will record a full subscription in the ongoing fund raiser. “What I can assure you is that we will go home with full subscription,” he affirmed.
According to him, the offer which is going on during the election well be successful. “The offer closes on the March 04, 2015 so is on during the elections and we have seen that certainly, as things will go well, we will at that date close the offer. Let me invite you to invest and think tomorrow, create a great future for yourself and your children by investing in Access Banks rights issue for those who already have shares,” Wigwe said.
Share price of the bank climbed up at the end of today’s session on the Nigerian bourse as it gained 0.27 kobo up by 4.98 percent.
Access Bank on January 26 opened its N52.6 billion ($275.10 million) rights issue at N6.90 per share and will sell 7.63 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at a ratio of one new share for every three held by existing shareholders.
The Africa’s top tier lender said the capital raising falls in line with its five-year corporate strategy plan to be one of the top three banks in the country and the “world’s most respected African bank”.
“This will be anchored on four critical pillars – capital, human capital, governance and risk management. It will also enable the Bank to be more competitive and meet the funding needs of its blue chip customers that meet its credit risk criteria,” the bank added.
The offer is expected to close on March 04, 2015; lead issuing house is Chapel Hill, while joint issuing houses include Marina Securities, Stanbic IBTC, Renaissance Capital, Vetiva Capital, Greenwich Trust, Futureview Financial Services and WSTC Financial Services.
