Kenyan banker James Mwangi earns $13.1 million as Equity Group shares return to pre-pandemic levels

Multimillionaire banker and philanthropist James Mwangi has earned $13.13 million (KSh1.43 billion) from his stake in Equity Group Holdings in the past 131 days, as shares in the group return to pre-pandemic levels.

Equity Group Holdings Limited is a leading financial services holding headquartered in Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya.

Aside from its Kenyan operations, the group operates through its subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As of press time, 1:00 PM (UTC), Aug. 10, shares in the group were trading at KSh50.25 ($0.4608), 28.7-percent higher than their closing price of KSh39.05 ($0.3581) on April 1.

Shares in the leading financial group have been on the rise since it announced that its profit in Q1 2021 grew by 64 percent to KSh8.72 billion ($79.96 million) from KSh5.32 billion ($48.79 million) in Q1 2020.

The last time its shares traded above the 50-shilling mark was in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global sell-off in equity markets as investors took flight to safety.

Bullish bias in reaction to the group’s Q1 financial performance and expectations of improved financial results in H1 2021 have pushed the group’s share price higher, as investors and bargain hunters acquired stakes.

Mwangi, chairman of Equity Group and its largest individual shareholder, has seen the market value of his stake grow by more than $10 million.

Data retrieved from the Nairobi Stock Exchange and the group’s annual report revealed that the market value of his shares in the leading financial services holding has risen from KSh4.99 billion ($45.77 million) on April 1 to KSh6.42 billion ($58.90 million) on Aug. 10.

This translates to a gain of KSh1.43 billion ($13.13 million) for the banker in 131 days.