ZSIC Life has for the second time postponed its highly anticipated initial public offer – IPO listing of its shares on the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) to next year 2022.
The Life insurer was expected to undertake a public offer of its shares in 2021 after the initial postponement of its listing that had earlier been planned for 2020. The listing of ZSIC life and ZAFFICO had earlier been announced in the October 2018 budget speech by then Finance Minister Margerate Mwanakatwe for listing in 2019.
Mwanakatwe had in the 2019 budget then stated that “ZSIC Life and ZAFFICO will be listed on LuSE in 2019”. ZAFFICO has since been successfully listed, while the listing of ZSIC Life has now been postponed for the second time.
However, the company has stated that they have made some progress such as the converting of the company from a private limited company to a public company. “ZSIC Life’s ordinary shares have now been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in terms of the Securities Act with effect from September 3, 2020”.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, ZSIC Life public relations manager Nabwalya Vlahakis said the company shares were now tradable and quoted on the second tier market.
Vlahakis said this means that the shares are not yet completely opened up to the public as the registration with SEC was part of the process to the full listing on LuSE.
“Our ordinary shares have been registered with the SEC, this means that the shares of ZSIC Life are now tradable on the second tier market, this entails that we have not yet opened up completely to the public, it is just part of the process”, Vlahakis stated.
“So this is the first step towards our eventual listing on LuSE, by upgrading from the quoted tier to the listed tier. We are in the process, by next year [2022], we will be officially listed on LuSE, and then we can open up [our shares] to the public,” she said.
The insurer stated that there are a couple of processes that are remaining to be followed and are quite lengthy but this is just means preparation on the part of company.
“As a company going out there to the public to sell shares, you have to be a company that is bringing something great to the market. Our different plans, product offering are in line with what we want the public to have, but it is just the regulatory processes we are concluding,” she said.
She also assured ZSIC Life clients and Zambian citizens in general that there is nothing to worry about because the listing is a great step towards improving profitability and attracting more investments.
“Usually there is concern on what will happen to the company after we list, the company is a wholly Zambian owned and our track record is that we are one of the oldest insurance firms, so the listing for us means enhancing our profitability.
“What happens is that every time a company is listed, it changes its profile, the company begins to have a good image because then, its shares are tradable on the stock exchange market and that means that the profile for the company goes up.
“So there is really no fear that should be out there as it is a good thing for the company to be more competitive. For us its just aligning and evolving as a company, and becoming more profitable as we keep on moving with the time,” Vlahakis said.
The net outcome of SEC registration under the Act is that the shares of ZSIC Life are now tradeable on the second tier market of LuSE). SEC registration gives automatic admission to the quoted tier segment of the LuSE market.
Therefore, the quotation of ZSIC Life is the first step towards its eventual listing by upgrading from the quoted tier to the mainboard or listed tier of the LuSE market. Going forward, following the quotation of ZSIC Life on the LuSE, the Board and management of ZSIC Life are working through the steps and actions required to attain a full listing on LuSE.
ZSIC Life is wholly owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (“IDC”). In 2015, ZSIC Holdings was placed under the IDC. In 2017, the IDC took direct equity control of ZSIC General and ZSIC Life to streamline the operating structure and improve the performance and profitability of the two companies.
See the first postponement ZSIC Listing first postponement
