Sunbird dates govt on recapitalisation end January

Officials of Sunbird Tourism Limited, one of the country’s listed hotel chains, are expected to meet government representatives end January to chart the way forward in the ongoing recapitalisation bid.

Currently, Sunbird, which listed on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE), is 71 percent owned by Malawi government, 16.44 percent by United Kingdom-based investor Noel Hayes and 12.56 percent by the public.

Speaking in an interview last week in Blantyre, Sunbird chairperson Phillip Madinga said the company is scheduled to meet Government officials end January to hear the majority shareholders’ perspective.

He said: “We are making progress in the recapitalisation bid. We have recently had discussions and we agreed that later this month or early February, we should meet to discuss  plans in line with what the majority shareholder sees as the direction that we would want to take.”

In an earlier interview, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Joseph Mwanamvekha said government is looking at several options, which include selling its stake or going for private placements—a funding of securities sold through a private offering mostly to a small number of investors. n