Amana Capital, a Nairobi based fund manager, has announced that its investors can now access 41% of their funds-cash that was locked following the Nakumatt commercial paper’s collapse.
These funds, deposited at Kingdom Bank, Co-operative Bank, and I&M Bank, have been available from the 1st week of December, 2020.
Funds held by the three lenders will continue to earn interest that will be distributed monthly as usual if a client will not require the funds to be paid out.
In a statement, Amana Capital said funds that are now available to clients represent 68% of cash held by the firm. The first tranche of redemptions was paid on 7th December 2020, 9th December 2020, 11th December 2020, and the 14th December.
After that, typical redemption timelines of 3-5 business days will resume. The final tranche will be available for redemption from the first week of January 2021.
Reginald Kadzutu appointed interim CEO
Amana Capital Limited, a fund manager licensed & regulated in Kenya by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), has also appointed Reginald Kadzutu, former Head of Retail at Zamara, as its Acting Chief Executive Officer. Reginald is a respected Economist and policy analyst.
Kadzutu is expected to spearhead the fund manager’s turnaround strategy after the debacle involving the collapse of Nakumatt commercial paper nearly brought it down. He has also held the position of CIO at Amana Capital, prior to this new appointment at the same firm.
Approval of Conversion of Funds to Equity Stake
During an AGM held on 25th September 2020, members approved the remaining 59% in the Amana Shilling fund class B to be converted into a 30% equity stake in Amana Capital Limited, representing the KSh255Million funding gap.
“The objective is to provide the shareholders affected by the funding gap to recover their investment through a dividend policy from profits generated from management fees. The investor and management team are tasked to secure new funds under management over the next year to exceed KSh300Million,” reads the firm statement.
Amana Capital Strategic investor
In September 2020, Amana Capital Limited secured a strategic investor to be part of its recapitalization plan after the Nakumatt commercial paper collapse. This investor has been working with shareholders to limit the loss of funds in the collapsed commercial paper.
The company said it was seeking legal action against parties related to the Nakumatt commercial paper, intending to channel funds recovered from ongoing legal processes to affected unit trust holders.
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