Following some minor gains in the first seven months of the year, Kenyan billionaire businessman and leading executive James Mwangi has seen the market value of his stake in Equity Group Holdings, East Africa’s largest financial services group, fall dramatically.
According to data obtained from the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the market value of Mwangi’s stake in Equity Group has decreased by Ksh1.022 billion ($10.2 million) in the past 141 days, despite the bank’s shares falling by double digits.
Equity Group Holdings Limited is a leading financial services conglomerate located in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital and largest city. It operates through subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in addition to its Kenyan operations.
Mwangi, who has been instrumental in the growth and transformation of Kenya’s financial services industry, owns a sizable 3.38-percent stake in Equity Group, Africa’s largest lender.
Shares in the banking group were trading at Ksh45.25 ($0.367) at the time of writing, unchanged from their opening price this morning, as investors continued to closely monitor the performance of shares on the local bourse.
Since Aug. 10, the group’s shares have increased by more than 15 percent, from Ksh53.25 ($0.447) on Aug. 10 to Ksh45.25 ($0.367) on Dec. 29, bringing its market capitalization below Ksh175 billion ($1.4 billion).
As a result of the recent slump in the bank’s shares, Mwangi has seen the market value of his stake decline from Ksh6.8 billion ($57.1 million) on Aug. 10 to Ksh5.78 billion ($46.9 million) at the time of drafting this report.
This amounts to a total loss of Ksh1.02 billion ($10.22 million) for the billionaire businessman.
Despite the recent drop in the market value of his stake, Mwangi remains one of the most wealthy investors on the local stock exchange.
