Stanbic’s historic IPO gathers pace
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday November 9, 2026 09:18
Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited, a unit of Standard Bank Group, is seeking to sell a 20% stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, Stanbic Bank Botswana, at P4.30 per share.
The historic offer, which comes 32 years after Stanbic first opened doors in Botswana, is the BSE’s fourth IPO this year and an amazing turnaround in activity for an Exchange that last had a public float in November 2017.
Stanbic’s IPO comes after years of lobbying by local economic commentators and analysts who had noted that the institution was the only one of the Big Four banks to not have a public equity listing.
Although the bank had a BSE listing via its fixed notes programme, Stanbic executives had long teased an offer of shares to the public.
“Stanbic Bank Botswana is not raising capital; we do not need to,” said CEO Chose Modise at a BSE bellringing ceremony held to mark the opening of the IPO on Monday. “Our capital adequacy ratio was 22.6% at the end of 2025, well above the 12.5% the Bank of Botswana recommends. “No new shares are being issued, and this is not about money. “It is about ownership. “We are not asking Batswana to fund us. We are inviting Batswana to own us. “The proposition is simple: Own a share in the Bank that’s grown with Botswana.”
According to its prospectus, the IPO is designed to provide citizens of Botswana with an “opportunity to participate in the future growth and performance of Stanbic Bank and to demonstrate long-term commitment to Botswana”.
The IPO will “broaden and diversify the bank’s shareholder base, increase local ownership and support citizen economic empowerment objectives in Botswana.”
Under the offer, which closes on November 27, Stanbic is offering about 255.5 million shares via private placement, which means shares sold directly to selected institutional investors.
BusinessWeek is informed that the private placement has been strongly received by institutional investors, with the possibility of an oversubscription.
The remainder, or about 63.9 million shares, are up for sale to the public.
Applications from the public must be for a minimum of 250 shares and thereafter in multiples of 10 shares.
“The minimum is 250 shares at P4.30 a share, that is P1,075. “That’s a first step, not a fortune. “The door is wide. You do not need to bank with us to apply. Any eligible individual or legal entity can. Being our client buys no priority. “If demand is high, shares are allocated on a pro rata or equitable basis. “Nobody receives fewer shares than someone who applied for the same number or fewer. The small applicant is protected,” said Modise.
The CEO said for those asking ‘why now’, the answer was that growth that only shows up in a bank’s annual report is not enough.
“Growth must show up in the lives of the people who made it possible. “In 2025, we earned P709.7 million after tax, with a return on equity of 24.3%. “Past performance is not a promise, but it is a record, and we intend to keep building on it. “Our customers trust us with their salaries, their homes and their businesses and they deserve a seat at the table,” he said.
Stanbic’s offer marks the fourth IPO in recent months for the BSE, after Kwa Nokeng and Continental Reinsurance as well as the Dangote Refinery IPO whose shares are being offered via an instrument known as depository receipts.