Fresh calls for govt to dilute stake in Sunbird

Minority shareholders in Sunbird Tourism plc on Friday revived calls for government to reduce its shareholding in the hotel chain to attract new investors to boost capital for infrastructure projects.

The Malawi Government has a 71 percent stake in the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed Sunbird Tourism plc with 14 percent owned by the public and 15 percent by Press Corporation plc.

Speaking during the 34th Annual General Meeting in Blantyre on Friday, one of the minority shareholders Joe Maere said government’s delay to divest or reduce its stake in Sunbird Tourism plc is a huge cost to the company.

He said: “It is a waste of time for the government to be controlling 70 percent of a business entity that is supposed to be running independently and privately.

“Government needs to sustain at least 51 percent stake and offload the 20 percent to people who can bring money into the company.”

Maere said the current structure does not give a good impression to potential investors.

Minority Shareholders Association of Malawi general secretary Frank Harawa said in an interview that government is holding Malawians at ransom.

“It is either government divests or reduces its shareholding so that Sunbird plc raises capital for its infrastructural projects,” he said.

Sunbird Tourism plc board chairperson Vilipo Munthali said reducing shareholding in the company is the choice of the investor.

“We, as a board, can only push the investor to some extent and not go beyond that,” he said.

Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture Principal Secretary Chauncy Simwaka, who is one of the directors of Sunbird Tourism plc, said government has been contemplating diluting its presence in Sunbird.

In the year ended December 31 2021, Sunbird Tourism plc posted an after-tax profit of K749.4 million, thanks to the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions and economic recovery.

The financial statements show profit-after-tax has jumped from a loss of K1.2 billion in 2020.