Bank plans to raise K224mil

THE Kina Bank is planning a raising of equity and is inviting eligible shareholders to buy additional shares in the business, according to a statement from the bank.
It plans to raise around AU$91 million (K224 million) from the equity raising.
Proceeds will be used to expand the capital base of the bank, enabling it to further pursue growth opportunities in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, and fund additional strategic projects which would enhance Kina’s digital leadership in the country.
In the past 12 months after the acquisition of ANZ PNG, Kina has increased its market share to between 12 and 14 per cent.
The bank said an equity raising would give the bank further opportunity to increase this. Board chairman Isikeli Taureka said that as reported in the first half-year result of 2020, Kina continued to see significant additional growth opportunities across its new and existing customer base both in terms of additional services from existing clients and market share gains from competitors.
“This equity raise will put Kina Bank in a stronger position to take advantage of such opportunities on the back of a stronger capital base, particularly the capital adequacy and single borrower limits,” he said.
Managing director and chief executive officer Greg Pawson said in the bank’s first half-year result released last week that despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19, the bank had maintained a disciplined approach to business which delivered “compelling growth”.
“We have leveraged the ANZ acquisition for a significant uplift in net interest income, and our new digital channels saw higher than expected revenue growth – with merchant point-of-sale (POS) revenue a particular stand-out.”