Joint venture between OM Swaziland and the Swaziland National Provident Fund celebrated

Old Mutual African Operations Managing Director, Johannes !Gawaxab (left) and His Excellency Prime Minister, Dr Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini from Swaziland at the recent announcement of the joint venture.

Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Swaziland (OMLACSWA), a subsidiary of the Emerging Markets Business Unit of Old Mutual plc (“Old Mutual”), has announced that it has concluded a joint venture transaction with local partner, Swaziland National Provident Fund (SNPF). This transaction sees SNPF acquiring a 15% ownership stake in Old Mutual’s life company operation in the country.

The transaction is mandated by Insurance Act No. 7 of 2005, which legally requires all life companies to have a minimum ownership of 25% by local shareholders and an announcement regarding the remaining 10% will be made in the near future. Old Mutual Swaziland does not anticipate having to make any extensive operational changes or staff changes as a result of this transaction.

"At Old Mutual, we believe fundamentally that what is good for Swaziland is good for Old Mutual. Hence, when we were provided with this great opportunity to not o­nly to comply with the recently-implemented regulations, but also to invest meaningfully and tangibly in the sustainable growth of this country in the shape of this joint venture, we did not hesitate to take the opportunity,” said Old Mutual African Operations Managing Director, Johannes !Gawaxab, at the announcement of the transaction.

“Old Mutual takes very seriously the challenge of collaborating to create a society that coming generations can be proud of. We believe in putting our customers at the centre of everything we do“ he said. ”Our ability to run a business that can withstand some of the worst economic challenges the world has ever experienced can be seen by the way we have emerged from the recent global economic crisis.

“We possess wisdom gained over many years, that – when shared – has the potential to set each and every o­ne of our customers o­n their respective paths to greatness,’ !Gawaxab concluded.