Liberty plans to start offering asset management services
in Nigeria, the company said in its recently released annual report. It
is an initiative that should broaden its offering in the country beyond
health insurance.
The plan was to establish a presence in West Africa and be in a position to offer insurance and investment solutions.
Liberty operates in 16 African countries. Its vision for
the year 2020 is to be among the top ten insurers in Nigeria and top
three in Kenya, BD Live reports.
At the moment, Liberty has only health and asset management capability in Ghana and a health offering in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, Liberty has been offering health insurance
since 2009 through Total Health Trust. Last year Liberty’s asset
manager, Stanlib set up operations in Ghana through the acquisition of
Stanbic Investment Management Services division.
In the year ended December, Liberty Africa Insurance
generated $4.9 million in Black Empowerment (BEE) normalised operating
earnings out of a total of $215.3 million. In the asset management
business Liberty reflected $4.8 million in earnings from the rest of
Africa.
BEE-normalised headline earnings, which exclude certain
one-time items and take into account the effect of its black shareholder
scheme, is Liberty’s main performance measure.
Liberty also noted that its BEE scheme, which was done in
2004, had matured, transferring $190.4 million of value for its
beneficiaries. In 2004 Liberty sold a 9% stake to a BEE consortium
consisting of black managers, empowerment groups Shanduka and Safika and
the Liberty Community Trust.
About $74.5 million of value was created for 1,227 black
employees, $74.5 million of value for Safika and Shanduka, and $41.4
million for the community trust.
Liberty said when the deal matured its black partners
owned 7.5% of the group. Subsequent to the maturity of the deal at the
end of December last year, Liberty employees sold about 1.8-million
shares.
The Liberty shares have traded at levels between $10 and $14 from January to date.
The Standard Bank Group, which holds 53% of Liberty, is
expected to soon issue further details about the BEE status in the
group.
However, last year when Liberty chairman and Safika
director, Saci Macozoma stepped down from the insurer, it was stressed
that Safika would remain invested as a substantiated shareholder in both
Standard Bank and Liberty.
Another insurer that has a BEE deal maturing is Old
Mutual. The company said in its annual report that it was in discussions
with its BEE partners on how to collaborate beyond the maturity of the
deal.
The Sanlam BEE deal matured in December 2013 and its
empowerment partners Ubuntu-Botho are still heavily invested and have
not sold their shares. MMI’s BEE partner Kagiso Tiso Holdings is set to
stay invested until 2017.
Discovery’s BEE deal with WDB Investment Holding was refinanced in 2013 and will now also mature in 2017.
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