Thursday, Sep 15, 2011
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Abu Dhabi-based Invest AD's Africa fund, which it manages along with Japan's SBI Holdings, has bought into the initial public offering of Rwanda's Bank of Kigali, making its first investment as part of its strategy to benefit from the continent's strong economic growth, the emirate's government-controlled asset manager said Thursday.
"The fund, which will deploy $75 million invested by the two partners, is looking to participate in initial public offerings, take stakes in unlisted companies, and negotiate block share purchases in listed companies," Invest AD said in an emailed statement.
"Because of strong economic growth, Africa has a very interesting IPO pipeline," Chief Investment officer David Sanders said in the statement. He expects some attractive investment opportunities in the coming years as the companies are strong, growing rapidly, and hungry for capital.
Bank of Kigali, which has operated for 45 years and is the largest commercial bank in Rwanda, raised $62.5 million in its IPO last month as the bank issued 20% new shares and the Rwandan government sold a 25% stake, according to Invest AD.
The bank became the second company to list on the Rwanda Stock Exchange since the market began operations in January. Rwandan shares were previously exchanged on an over-the-counter market, the company noted.
-By Nikhil Lohade, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 446 1694, nikhil.lohade@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
15-09-11 1038GMT
