Malawian banking tycoon Hitesh Anadkat earns $764,000 from stake in Letshego Holdings

The stake of Malawian multimillionaire banker Hitesh Anadkat in the Botswana-based Letshego Holdings Limited has increased by $764,000 (BWP8.38 million) in 22 days on the back of a surge in the company’s shares.

The $764,000-gain can be linked to a rise in the market value of his stake in Letshego Holdings, as shares in the microfinance holding company surged by 30 percent as analysts and investors react to its impressive financial performance for 2020.

Letshego Holdings is a microfinance holding headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. The financial services institution recorded more than $90.8 million (BWP1 billion) in profit before tax in its 2020 financial results despite challenging economic conditions.

Its net advances increased by 12 percent for the year on the back of increased economic activity in the second half of 2020 after lockdowns and other restrictions were gradually eased down.

These impressive results coupled with analysts’ expectations for an impressive H1 2021 results led investors and bargain hunters to accumulate shares in the company, thus resulting in a surge in the share price of the microfinance holding company.

As of press time, 12:00 PM, shares in Letshego Holdings were trading at $0.0821 (BWP0.90), 25-percent higher than its opening price of $0.0657 (BWP0.72 per share) for the year.

Since April 1, shares in the company have increased from $0.0629 (BWP0.69) to $0.0821 (BWP0.90) per share, accruing gains of about 30 percent for shareholders.

Anadkat, the founder of the Mauritius-based FMB Capital Holdings, is one of the top shareholders in Letshego. His 39,885,000 ordinary shares in the company account for 1.9 percent of the total issued shares in the holding.

Research by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of his stake has increased from $2.51 million (BWP27.52 million) on April 1 to $3.27 million (BWP35.90 million) on July 19.

This translates to a gain of $764,000 (BWP8.38 million) for the multimillionaire banker in 109 days.