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Allied Financial Holdings has secured an investor that will inject US$30 million to enable the group’s banking arm to meet regulatory minimum capital thresholds

Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
AN unnamed Mauritius Stock Exchange-listed company is set to inject US$30 million for a controlling stake in Allied Financial Holdings, the parent company of financial services entity, Allied Bank.
The company is owned by a Mauritius-domiciled consortium led by newly appointed AFH group chief executive officer Mr Terence Mukupe. Allied Financial Holdings chairman Mr Farai Mutamangira yesterday said Mr Mukupe had been appointed group CEO with immediate effect.

He said Mr Mukupe was a proven leader and first class banker with a great track record spanning several continents from Wall Street to Moscow.

“Terence is leading a Mauritius-domiciled consortium to take a significant stake in the bank. Details of the consortium’s recapitalisation effort will be made public in due course.

“AFH has a great future ahead of it. The spirit of our institution is passion, perseverance and empowerment of all our clients. This will remain the focal point of our culture,” he said.

The Mauritian entity will immediately inject US$30 million capital to enable the banking group to meet regulatory minimum capital thresholds. Allied Bank, is among seven banks being monitored by the central bank due to liquidity challenges and was yet to comply with the December 2013 regulatory minimum capital requirements.

However, it is understood that the investment will dilute Transport Minister Dr Obert Mpofu owned Trebor and Khays.
The company currently owns almost the entire stake in the group.

A source that spoke on condition of anonymity said the Mauritian consortium was planning to list Allied in Mauritius in two months.
“The investment will leave him (Dr Obert Mpofu) within the (individual bank ownership) threshold of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and after listing he will be diluted completely,” the source said.

The source said the second phase of the recapitalisation of AFH, will take its banking subsidiary’s minimum capital level to US$100 million.
This will give the group ample time to work on a recapitalisation plan ahead of the June deadline to submit a 2020 compliance plan.

RBZ acting Governor Charity Dhliwayo in January extended the US$100 million banks compliance deadline to 2020, but requires financial institutions to submit compliance plans by June this year.

It is expected that investment AFH, will open numerous lines of credit for its banking unit from rich Mauritian institutional investors.
Further, sources said after the acquisition, Allied Bank will refocus its business to investment banking focusing on multi-million dollar deals the group foresees in Zimbabwe in the near future.

“The bank will be transformed into a transaction services with transaction fees expected to drive the income of the Allied Bank more than anything else from infrastructure and capital raising deals. It is an issue of being able to identify external investors and packaging a deal that suits their investment criteria,” said the source.