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The firm's Chief Executive Officer Nelson Kuria says among the market they are entering is Uganda by the end of the year, where CIC Africa Limited will hold 51 percent shares in the new subsidiary/FILE

Kenya

CIC Insurance to extend regional reach

The firm's Chief Executive Officer Nelson Kuria says among the market they are entering is Uganda by the end of the year,  where CIC Africa Limited will hold 51 percent shares in the new subsidiary/FILE

The firm’s Chief Executive Officer Nelson Kuria says among the market they are entering is Uganda by the end of the year, where CIC Africa Limited will hold 51 percent shares in the new subsidiary/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 15 – The CIC Insurance Group plans to expand into the East Africa region through CIC Africa Limited, by seeking partnerships with local organisations in line with the co-operatives model that the firm is pursuing.

The firm’s Chief Executive Officer Nelson Kuria says among the market they are entering is Uganda by the end of the year, where CIC Africa Limited will hold 51 percent shares in the new subsidiary, CIC Africa Uganda, in partnership with the Uganda Co-operatives and Savings and Credit Union Limited and Uganda Co- operative Alliance.

Uganda has over 14,000 co-operative societies which the insurer will leverage to penetrate the market and reach about five million members.

The co-operatives network in Uganda will give CIC Insurance a strong entry point which will enable the company to break even and outperform competitors.

“With oil discoveries and a natural resource base which includes agriculture and regular rainfall, Uganda is an economy that is going to explode very soon and this is the time to enter the market,” added Kuria.

In August, the CIC Africa Limited officially began operations in South Sudan where it has underwritten Gross Premiums worth more than Sh54 million.

“We are trading in the country under the banner of CIC Africa South Sudan, which is a partnership between CIC and the Co-operative Bank of South Sudan with a shareholding of 69 percent and 31 percent respectively,” explained Kuria.

The firm’s Corporate Bond has been listed and is now trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

The bond was oversubscribed by 111 percent raising a sum of Sh6.34 billion from the initial target of Sh3 billion.

The Group Chairman, Japheth Magomere, said funds raised will be used to drive the company’s five-year strategic plan focusing mainly on the real estate business, regional expansion into South Sudan, Uganda and Malawi.

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The funds will also be used to roll out new products targeting the micro insurance sector and recapitalise its subsidiaries.

Under the strategic plan, the insurer expects to grow its Gross Written Premiums to Sh45 billion shillings by December 2018 from the current Sh9 billion.

On his part the NSE chairman, Eddy Njoroge said this year alone, the corporate bond market has raised Sh13.5 billion.

The government has raised and listed Sh89.1 billion in Treasury Bonds.

“We look forward to working with our Counties to raise funds for their development projects through issuance of county bonds. We believe that the debt markets can be used to fund flagship projects under the Vision 2030 while supporting the key pillars of the Government’s manifesto,” Njoroge said.

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