Nico Holdings ponders listing Nico Life on MSE

Nico Holdings plc says it is pondering listing its subsidiary Nico Life Insurance Company Limited on the 16-counter Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) as calls from shareholders mount to consider taking that route.

The financial services group’s managing director Vizenge Kumwenda said in an interview on Friday in Blantyre on the sidelines of a stakeholders’ forum that listing has its own obligation.

He said they will have to take into account the costs and benefits of listing as well as engage other shareholders before proceeding.

“Some of our shareholders want our subsidiaries listed on the local shares market and this is something we will take up to our board and major shareholders which is Sanlam. We will explain the reasons why this company is wanted to be listed,” said Kumwenda.

“We have received specific calls for us to consider listing Nico Life Insurance Company on the local shares market and for good reasons. It has been anchoring the good performance of the holding company over the past years and it remains an important company.”

He said considering that Sanlam is a foreign investor, this means they will have to be convinced that listing is a worthwhile undertaking.

Reacting to the development, Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies general secretary Frank Harawa said listing the company on MSE will help the company grow and help make the local shares market liquid.

He said “As shareholders, we are proud to be associated with this company. We are proud that our results are good, especially for some entities though they are not listed on the market.

“Nico is one of the oldest companies in Malawi and the first to list on the [stock] market and has companies like Nico Life which is performing well and could grow even bigger if it lists on the market.”

Harawa said Nico Holdings plc has grown and built companies that are doing well and what remains is for the companies to come on the market to not only benefit investors, but the company as well.

Nico Holdings plc subsidiaries include NBS Bank plc, Nico Asset Managers Limited, Nico General Insurance Company Limited, Nico Life Insurance Company, Nico Capital Limited, Nico Insurance (Zambia) Limited and Sanlam General Uganda Limited and Sanlam em  Mocambique.

In the year-end December 2022, Nico Holdings plc posted a profit after-tax of K37.6 billion, a 105 percent increase from the previous year’s K18.29 billion.

Nico Life Insurance Company, on the other hand, grew its profits by 69 percent to K14.6 billion in 2022 from K8.7 billion  the previous year.