140 new investors, $0.8m reinvested

The South Pacific Stock Exchange recorded a total of 140 new investors last year, a decrease of 23.50% compared to the same period in 2021.

Despite the uncertainties encountered around investor sentiments in 2022, the number of new investors entering the stock market remained commendable and stable. According to a review of new investors entering the market in 2022 by age group, the majority of the new investors fall between the age range of 26 years to 35 years, with investors between the age range of 36 years and 55 years ranking second.

Even though the number of new investors decreased, the aggregate number of investors in the stock market increased. Additionally, after observing the investment trends and behaviour of these new investors, it is evident that investors are aware of and realise the long-term benefits of investing in the stock market.

In terms of new investor preference, it was noted that majority of the new investors were recorded for Fijian Holdings Limited (FHL) followed by Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Limited (ATH), Kontiki Finance Limited (KFL) and FMF Foods Limited (FMF)

In terms of the number of trades, the restricted security, FHL stood as the most active stock. F

HL accounted for 57.90% of the total number of trades in 2022. These number of trades for FHL stood approximately 6.9 times higher than the 2nd most active security and were underpinned by FHL’s market-based dividend re- investment option for shareholders, which accounted for 39.02% of the aggregate number of trades in 2022 and specifically, 67.40% of all FHL trades in 2022.

Wholesale Corporate Bonds

Wholesale Corporate Bonds are bonds issued by companies under the Companies (Wholesale Corporate Bonds) Regulations 2021 of the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF), which facilitates issuances of corporate bonds to eligible wholesale investors under s283(4)(d) of the Companies Act 2015.

This new product offering is anticipated to help develop a more vibrant capital market in Fiji by offering investors an opportunity to invest in a wider range of assets while simultaneously offering companies an alternative platform to raise capital.

Fijian Holdings Limited (FHL) became the first company to issue and list its Wholesale Corporate Bond under theCompanies (Wholesale Corporate Bonds) Regulations 2021after being able to successfully raise $30,000,000 through the secured fixed rate Wholesale Corporate Bond issuance. The corporate bond was offered only to eligible investors and the proceeds from the Wholesale Corporate Bond offer is expected to assist in financing construction of the 18 storey FHL Tower, repay a portion of FHL’s existing drawn bank debt providing some level of diversification of funding sources and tenor, as well as for related entity advances and for general corporate purposes.

Reinvestment Plans

In terms of Corporate Actions; Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRPs) were undertaken by Pleass Global Limited (PBP), Kontiki Finance Limited (KFL) and Free Bird Institute Limited (FBL). A DRP allows existing shareholders to reinvest their dividend proceeds through acquisition of additional shares in an entity at a discounted price and without any transaction costs as opposed to receiving their dividend entitlement in cash. In aggregate, a total of $0.81 million was reinvested into additional shares in 2022 through DRP.