UT Financial Services shares oversubscribed

Accra, Oct. 31, GNA - The initial public offer of UT Financial Services, a non-bank finance institution, to raise GH¢27 million has been successful, lead managers, Databank Financial Services Limited said on Friday.

The company raised GH¢27.5 million, representing an oversubscription by 1.7 per cent.

"Under the current turbulent financial environment where the credit crunch in developed countries is set to have a contagion effect on developing countries, we believe that this share offer has been very successful," Mr. Opoku-Gyamfi Boateng, Executive Director, Databank Financial Services, told journalists at a press briefing to announce the results.

UT Financial Services put on sale 90.2 million shares at GH¢0.30 per share to raise money to finance the company's branch expansion programme and acquisition of motor vehicles, office equipment, furniture and fittings.

The injection of fresh capital from the offer is also to be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet, expand the company's resource base for funding of new loans and expansion into new markets. UT already operates a branch in Germany and plans to explore opportunities in the Nigerian market.

The offer ran from September 22 to October 17.

Mr Boateng said foreign participation in the offer was limited with only 0.47 per cent of the shares going to individuals resident outside Ghana.

Local individuals and institutions subscribed to the remaining 99.53 per cent of the offer. He said some institutional investors' bids would be reduced to cater for the oversubscription.

Captain Prince Kofi Amoabeng (Rtd), Chief Executive Officer of UT, said his expectation to get Ghanaians to buy shares in the company had been met. UT will be formally listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange on November 21.