Port-Harcourt-based shareholders of Diamond
Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading retail bank, have applauded the bank for its
visionary approach to management in view of the ongoing rights issue.
The bank is issuing 8,685,145,863 ordinary
shares of 50 Kobo each which will be sold to existing shareholders
whose names appear on the Registrar of Members
and transfer books of the bank as at the close of trading on Friday, June 13,
2014, at N5.80 kobo. The stocks will be allocated on the basis of three
ordinary shares for every five held.
The shares are payable in full on
acceptance and tradeable on the floor of the Exchange throughout the period of
the Issue. The acceptance list opened since Wednesday, July 30, 2014 and closes
at the close of business on Tuesday, August 26, 2014.
Speaking at the Shareholders Forum held in
Port Harcourt, the shareholders lauded the bank for its efforts at raising
additional funds in order to boost its operations and deliver better returns to
the investors.
Mr. Amaopusenibo Obomanu, an official of
the Port Harcourt Shareholders Association said: “I think the Diamond Bank
Offer is a very good idea and like I mentioned to management we are likely to
take up every share that is offered. The bank seems to be doing well in the
last three years and I must congratulate them for having scaled the hammer of
the last CBN governor. I wish them all the very best for the future.”
Sylvester Ofulue: “The Rights Offer is
basically discounted. It is an opportunity for people to up their holding in
Diamond Bank. If you have followed the bank in the last three years you will
see the phenomenal turnaround that they have achieved in that time. They may
not have paid dividend the way others have done but what will see is that you
have gained a lot of capital appreciation in the last two to three years. Some
people entered at two, some three, some four. And from that point forward you
will have seen a growth of at least 50% return on your investment at Diamond
Bank and that is very encouraging. Nobody will see that and walk away. That’s
why we are taking the Rights Issue the way we are jumping at it now.”
Earlier, Dr Alex Otti, Group Managing
Director/CEO, Diamond Bank, said the funds raised would be deployed into branch
network expansion and renovation, information technology upgrade and up-scaling
of the retail segment of its operations.
“The bank intends to expand its branch network to 350
from the current 257. Following this projection, more than eighty percentage of
the money raised will be injected into it. A part of the funds will be
channeled toward strengthening the bank’s competitive capacity in the middle
market by developing and sharpening strategic focus, especially in the area of
MSMEs, sole proprietorship and the corporate business sector.” Otti added.
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