Another Chinese investor ups shareholding in Mwana Africa

Mwana Africa shareholder Feng Hailiang has increased his stake in the resources group to 9.3 percent after acquiring some of the shares sold by China International Mining Group Corporation (CIMGC) and its chairman Yat Hoi Ning, the company said on Thursday.

Last month CIMGC and Ning, Mwana Africa’s largest shareholders in combination, sold off nearly half of their holdings in the pan-African resources group, but the group said it was unaware of the buyer’s identity.

On Thursday, it reported that Hailiang now “directly and indirectly has an interest of 130 021 039 shares in the Company representing 9.302 percent of Mwana’s issued share capital.”

Prior to the share transaction Feng and his associates had an interest of 22 813 497 shares or 1.63 percent of the Company.

Feng is the founder and controlling shareholder of the Hailiang Group and was the Chairman of China’s biggest copper tube exporter and manufacturer of copper alloy tubes, Zhejiang Hailiang.

Zhejiang Hailiang currently has a joint venture agreement with Mwana for copper exploration in Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Following the disposals, CIMGC now has a holding in the company of 218 million shares, representing 15.60 per cent of the issued share capital of Mwana while Ning, who is also the CIMGC chairman, now holds 454 545 Shares, representing 0.033 per cent of the issued share capital.

It is still not clear who holds the remainder of the shares sold off by the two parties.

The group is set to hold an extraordinary general meeting on June 9 where four non-executive directors could be voted out.

Activist minority shareholders of the group who call themselves the ‘Concerned Shareholders Group’, led by Ian Dearing and others holding about 5,1 percent of Mwana’s issued share capital wants interim non-executive chairman Stuart Morris, Johan Botha, Ngoni Kudenga and Herbert Mashanyare to be removed from the board to be replaced by  Scott Morrison, Mark Wellesley-Wood, Oliver Barbeau and Anne-Marie Chidzero.- The Source

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