Chanas Assurances plans to raise its share capital from FCFA 6.051116 billion to FCFA 13.2733 billion — a net increase of 119.35 % — following a restructuring approved by its Extraordinary General Meeting on 14 April 2026 in Douala. The nominal value of the cash portion of the increase remains limited to FCFA 3.326 billion; the remaining FCFA 5.3473 billion will come from reserves already recorded in the insurer's equity.
The operation, detailed in a notice to shareholders published on 10 August 2026, takes place in three stages. Chanas first reduces its capital by FCFA 1.451116 billion, bringing it down to FCFA 4.6 billion, "in accordance with CIMA requirements," without the notice specifying the accounting treatment behind this reduction. The company then carries out a FCFA 3.326 billion cash increase through the issuance of 33,260 new shares at FCFA 100,000 each, bringing capital to FCFA 7.926 billion. A capitalisation of FCFA 5.3473 billion in reserves, accompanied by a bonus share award, finally brings it to FCFA 13.2733 billion.
The FCFA 3.326 billion cash issuance is a nominal value, not an amount already collected. Existing shareholders will be able to subscribe without an issue premium, up to the level needed to maintain their stake; any remaining shares could then be offered at a premium set by the board of directors, in which case the sums actually collected could exceed FCFA 3.326 billion without increasing share capital by the same amount. The preferential subscription right runs for 30 days, with 50 % payable on subscription and the balance due within three months.
This last point calls for clarification: CIMA regulation No. 004 of 8 August 2024 requires at least three-quarters of any cash share subscription to be paid up during a capital increase, and the notice does not explain how the initial 50 % payment squares with this 75 % regulatory minimum.
Chanas operates in non-life (IARD) insurance, where minimum share capital has been set at FCFA 5 billion since CIMA regulation No. 004/2024 — a threshold the company already exceeded before the operation. That same regulation notably raised the equity floor, now set at 80 % of actual recorded share capital rather than just the regulatory minimum: with a final capital of FCFA 13.2733 billion, that threshold will work out to FCFA 10.61864 billion, versus FCFA 4.8408928 billion on the basis of the initial capital.
Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH), which holds 45.26 % of Chanas Assurances, would need to subscribe roughly FCFA 1.505 billion to maintain its stake in the cash increase. Should it or other shareholders not fully exercise their rights, the remaining shares could be allocated to new investors, potentially reshaping the ownership structure.
Chanas remains one of Cameroon's top three non-life insurers, with FCFA 21.03 billion in premiums written in 2024 according to provisional ASAC data, behind SanlamAllianz and Axa. By the end of the operation, if every stage is completed, its capital will have been multiplied by 2.19 — though the real significance of this restructuring will depend less on the statutory amount than on the subscriptions actually paid up and the final level of equity.
Source: InvestirauCameroun (August 2026). Our teams monitor developments among insurance players in the CIMA zone to inform clients exposed to these markets.