Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – Old Mutual is now primary listed on the Johannesburg Security Exchange (JSE), with a secondary listing on the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX), as well as on the stock exchanges in Malawi, Zimbabwe and London. “This occasion is part of our journey of anchoring Old Mutual in Africa. It is an exciting moment but equally a great opportunity to accelerate and propel us to a higher level of ‘doing great things every day’ for our valuable customers, employees and communities,” said Kosmos Egumbo, the group CEO for Old Mutual Namibia.
He said the listing on African bourses presents existing and prospective Old Mutual shareholders with an opportunity and investment vehicle to acquire Old Mutual Limited shares through the NSX. “When you own Old Mutual Limited shares you become part of a business that enables positive futures, a business, family and community,” Egumbo said.
The listing follows the completion of the unbundling process, and the parent company, Old Mutual plc, will remain listed in London and one of the index companies in the FTSE 100. It however delisted from the JSE. It means that Old Mutual Limited is now an independent entity from its parent company, but also that its shareholding in Nedbank has decreased significantly.
Old Mutual Limited has 12 million customers, and as of 2017 it has N$1.9 billion invested in small, medium and micro-sized enterprise financing, spent N$1 billion on sustainable agriculture, had invested N$22.1 billion in renewable energy, N$15.1 billion in affordable housing and N$61.4 billion in infrastructure. It has in total N$1.2 trillion in funds under management.
David Nuyoma, the chairperson of the NSX, noted that a lot has been said about dual listing in recent times and it probably warrants a little explanation on where the drive for this type of listing came from.
“In the SADC financial and investment protocol dual or cross-listings are specifically stated as an objective to diversify the regional investment landscape,” he said.
“Old Mutual clearly applied this principle when they demutualised and listed the company in all the jurisdictions they had policyholders that became their shareholders. You can also see in the staff and training they provide in each of the countries that they are committed to each of the jurisdictions [which are] not only a post office box with the real decisions being made in another country,” said Nujoma.