FBC.zw | Press Release to All Stakeholders

Published: 05 July 2017

FBC Holdings Limited published the following press statement:

"Shareholders of FBC Holdings Limited (FBCH) and all other stakeholders may have come across an article in the Zimbabwe Independent of 5 to 11 May 2017, titled "FBC, investors in fraud storm".

It is unusual for the FBCH Board of Directors to take this unprecedented step to respond in this fashion, as ordinarily, being a quoted company listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, the Group would normally only communicate to regulators and shareholders through traditional platforms such as circulars.

First and foremost, the Group hereby dismisses all the allegations relating to the so called misrepresentations, fraud and material non-disclosures being levelled against it by Mr Noel Hayes of LHG Malta who is a shareholder in Turnall Holdings Limited.

The Group advises stakeholders that the above allegations were brought to the attention of the FBCH Board of Directors, which after considering all the relevant facts and taking advice from the Group's lawyers, dismissed the allegations in their entirety and advised Mr Hayes to approach the courts. We advise that up to now Mr Hayes has not taken this course of action. He has instead resorted to approaching the media, obviously with the intention of tarnishing our good reputation. We believe that if Mr Hayes suffered serious financial prejudice as he claims, then the legal channel would have been the fairest way of resolving the issue.

The matter was already being handled by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe, but Mr Hayes has elected to approach the media before the issue is finalised.

The FBCH Group's performance on corporate governance and otherwise, over the past 20 years is well documented. Its financial performance has been fortified by the most recent results for the year ended 31 December 2016, which are in the public domain.

Strong leadership and corporate governance within the Group have stifled illegitimate efforts from the likes of Mr Noel Hayes to obtain undue advantage against the Group.

The Group will be seeking further advice from its legal counsel on the article, which is considered to be defamatory to the corporate, to which it refers, and which has been published."

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