The Standard Chartered Rights Issue has raised 8.3 billion shillings against the 3.2 billion shilling capital the bank had sought to raise in last month’s rights issue. A rights issue is where a company issues new shares to its existing shareholders in order to raise more capital. The additional 5.1 billion shillings raised represents an oversubscription of 158.4 percent in the bank’s issue.

CEO Richard Etemesi said that the funds raised will help in implementing the bank’s growth strategy and thanked shareholders for their participation in raising capital for the bank.

StanChart had hoped to raise the 3.2 billion shillings to support its growth strategy and issued 22 million new shares at a 59 percent discount price of KES 145 per share from today’s price of KES 230. Each shareholder was entitled to 1 new share for every 13 they held.

Rights to the new shares traded at the Nairobi Securities Exchange for just under 3 weeks starting 9^th October. In the same month, the bank’s shares gained 10 percent to KES 226 from KES 205 on 1^st October. They have since gained another 5 shillings to currently stand at this year’s highest of KES 231 per share.

Last month’s was Standard Chartered’s second rights issue following its first in 2010 that was oversubscribed by 160 percent. That rights issue was mainly to raise capital for StanChart’s 1.8 billion shilling acquisition of Barclays Kenya’s custody business, and raised 4 billion shillings against a targeted 2.5 billion shillings.

Standard Chartered Bank’s rights issue is the fourth this year after Diamond Trust Bank, NIC Bank and CFC Stanbic Bank also turned to their shareholders for more expansion cash.