Tanzanian multimillionaire brothers Aunali and Sajjad Rajabali’s stake in CRDB bank soars

Tanzanian multimillionaire brothers Aunali and Sajjad Rajabali’s stake in CRDB Bank, a leading financial services group in East Africa, has climbed 35 percent in value in less than two months.

CRDB Bank’s shares have risen as of late after outperforming mediocre expectations for 2020, despite the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operational environment.

Investors have reacted positively to the bank’s performance, sending CRDB Bank’s share price skyrocketing from $0.093 (TZS215) on April 1 to $0.13 (TZS290) by the close of trading on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange yesterday.

The increase resulted in $2.2 million (TZS5 billion) in gains for the Rajabali brothers.

CRDB Bank Plc is the largest wholly owned private universal bank in Tanzania. It also has a significant operational footprint in Burundi.

Established in 1996 and listed publicly in 2009, CRDB Bank has transformed into an innovative financial services partner in the region through its robust portfolio and tailored products.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank saw a net profit of $71.3 million (TZS165.2 billion) in 2020, compared to a net profit of $51.8 million (TZS120 billion) in 2019.

CRDB Bank’s balance sheet for 2020 reported total assets of $3.1 billion (TZS7.2 trillion) and total deposits of $2.3 billion (TZS5.4 trillion) as of Dec. 21, 2020.

The Rajabali brothers rank among the bank’s leading individual shareholders, with a total equity stake of 66,921,350 units of issued shares, or a 3.2-percent position.

The market value of their shares is estimated at $8.4 million (TZS19.4 billion).

The Rajabalis are expected to earn on June 11 a 2020 dividend of $0.95 (TSZ22) per share on their 66,921,350 issued shares, or $635,087 (TZS1.5 billion).