CRDB to float shares worth 150 billion/- to boost its services

CRDB Bank Managing Director, Dr Charles Kimei.

CRDB Bank is expected to collect 150bn/- from selling shares to shareholders as part of the bank’s initiative to boost its services in the next financial year.

Speaking ahead of this year's shareholders meeting, the bank’s managing director, Dr Charles Kimei said that the amount will be used by the bank to expand and improve its services.

He said the amount is to be approved by the bank’s shareholders who are expected to start their meeting on Friday in the safari capital of Arusha.

Kimei said that the 150bn/- will be an increase of 20 percent of the bank’s capital base. “The bank’s capital base is at 400bn/- which is not enough to meet bank’s demands, that’s why we are thinking to increase it by 20 percent.”

“We have a number of things to do, which needs money and when we sat down we decided to float shares to our shareholders,” Kimei said, adding that those shareholders who won’t be able to buy those shares they will sell those shares to the new bank’s investor.

He said the new foreign investor is expected to buy shares amounting to 100bn/-.

“Our shareholders will be buying shares at a cheaper price compared to those shares which are to be sold to the new investor and the difference will be the profit of our shareholders,” he said.

The official said that the projected amount will be spent in expanding services and improving bank’s ICT systems.

According to Kimei, the CRDB Bank's subsidiary company in Burundi has been performing well and since last year they have started registering profit.

“This is what makes us to eye for other foreign markets,” he said.

On the plummeting of Tanzanian shillings, the bank’s senior official blamed politicians for politicizing the matter, saying: “The weakening of shillings have a positive benefit to Tanzanian farmers. Their crops will be bought as people may stop importing food stuffs from abroad. Even importation of sugar will come to an end as the locally produced sugar will become cheap.”

He suggested the need for the Tanzanian shillings to be measured by the market.

The bank’s shareholders meeting is expected to bring on board more than 1,000 shareholders from across the country.

As of November 2014, CRDB Bank has a network of 118 fixed branches, 13 mobile branches, 984 Point of Sales (POS) terminals and 335 Automated teller machines, in all regions of Tanzania.

BY LUSEKELO PHILEMON

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN