Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Subscription of the N5.9 billion rights issue of WAPIC Insurance Plc has opened from Wednesday, November 20, 2019 and would close on Tuesday December 31, 2019.
According to information from the company, those who qualify to partake in the exercise are investors who have its stocks as at the close of business on Thursday, September 19, 2019.
WAPIC Insurance is offering to its shareholders 15,613,194,623 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at 38 kobo per share on the basis of seven new ordinary shares for every six ordinary shares held as at the qualification date.
For the rights issue, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited is the lead issuing house on this transaction, while Coronation Securities Limited is the stockbroker for the exercise, with Coronation Merchant Bank Limited as the joint issuing house.
Business Post gathered that WAPIC Insurance wants the N5.9 billion to enable it invest in WAPIC Life Assurance Limited to meet regulatory capital requirements. It also wants the funds for investment in WAPIC Insurance (Ghana) Limited.
Recall that last month, we reported that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had approved the listing of the company’s rights issue
WAPIC Insurance is one of the players in the sector asked to increase their share capital by the end of the second quarter of next.
This year, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) gave operators 13 months to raise their capital base by at least 100 percent on or before June 30, 2020.
Life insurers were told to raise their minimum paid up capital from N2 billion to N8 billion; general underwriters from N3 billion to N10 billion; while composite and reinsurance companies have new minimum paid up share capital requirements of N18 billion and N20 billion, up from N5 billion and N10 billion respectively.
The regulator exempted takaful and micro insurance companies from the recapitalisation exercise.
Since this circular was sent to operators, they have been doing everything possible to source for fresh funds especially through rights issue and other means at their disposal.
A couple of insurers have been getting approvals of their shareholders to raise fresh capital and one of them was Wapic Insurance, whose investors in June 2019, authorised the board of directors to raise additional capital up to N6.5 billion so as to meet the new recapitalisation policy of the industry’s regulator.
