Jubilee Holdings to pump $44 million into Bujagali power plant
Friday June 01 2018
An aerial view of the Bujagali hydroelectric power plant. It generates about 50 per cent of hydro power in Uganda. FILE PHOTO | NATION
Jubilee Holdings is set to invest an additional $44 million in Ugandan hydroelectric power plant Bujagali as part of the insurance group’s diversification across the East Africa region.
The investment will significantly increase the insurer’s shareholding in the power distributor two years after it bought a $54,2 million stake.
“We continue to search for high quality conservative investments that offer consistent and competitive returns and also provide a suitable asset-liability match to some of our longer term insurance liabilities,” said Jubilee Holdings chairman Nizar Juma on Thursday.
Jubilee sees the power plant’s return profile as matching the group’s longer term pension and annuity liabilities.
Bujagali generates about 50 per cent of hydro power in Uganda.
Jubilee Holding’s increase in investment comes at the back of a $41.4 million after tax profit last year, a 15 per cent increase over 2016.
Its medical insurance profit grew by 478 per cent to $8.7 million last year, even as the firm struggles to control fraudulent claims.
The insurer is also making new investments in technology and data analytics in efforts to tap more into Kenya’s market, where only about two per cent of the population is insured.
The company rolled out an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chat assistant last year.
Penetration is however tipped to hit double figures in the next five years, highlighting a promising outlook for the insurer.
Jubilee Holdings provides insurance services in neighbouring Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Mauritius.
The board chair said its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will start once there is political stability, two years since it announced its entry into the troubled country.