Uchumi shareholders upset by delay in relisting

Attempts by Uchumi Supermarkets shareholders to know when the company will be re-admitted to Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) failed to yield results during annual general meeting held on Thursday.

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The supermarket was widely expected to relist at NSE after shaking-off receivership in March 2010, but there has been no word from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) over the matter.

"The supermarket has presented all the required information, among the conditions being making profits consistently for three years. We have finalised and are waiting for decision to lift the suspension and hope that this will be done soon," said the trade permanent secretary, Mr Abdulrazaq Adan.

He added, "the lifting of the suspension can only be done by CMA. No matter how fast we wanted to get to the end, we had to comply," the PS said.

The government is the majority shareholder after converting part of its loan amounting to Sh350 million into equity, one of the efforts initiated to lift the supermarket chain from receivership.

The remaining amount of Sh407 million was restructured to be paid upto December 2014.

Uchumi chief executive officer, Mr Jonathan Ciano said the supermarket was paying Sh40 million every three months and had made three instalments so far.

Mr Ciano has maintained that the supermarket has fulfilled all the conditions set by the regulator, which now holds the key to return to trading at NSE.

Its estimated that Sh2.6 billion (estimated at Sh14.50 per share at price the stock sold when it was suspended in 2006).

Mr Ciano, however said the company's expansion in the country and the East African region was on course.

The supermarket has opened branches in Kericho, Embu and Nakuru.

He said there were plans to open another in Kampala and Gulu in Uganda, while the Dar-es-salaam branch in Tanzania will open doors soon.

"We want to be an East African Community company with branches in all the five states," he said of the regional expansion.

Source: Breaking News, Kenya