By Pearl Natamba
MTN Uganda listed 22.4 billion ordinary shares on the Uganda Security Exchange (USE) during the MTN IPO Listing event at the Kampala Serena Hotel on 6th December 2021. All the issued shares were listed on the Main Investment Market Segment of the USE (the listing) per Rule 32(7) of the USE Listing Rules 2021. This listing reduces the ownership of MTN Group in MTN Uganda from 96% to 83.05%.
In his speech, MTN Uganda CEO, Wim Vanhelleputte, said that the listing is a climax of the journey that MTN started in September 2018. He also highlighted that 65% of MTN Uganda’s employees have bought shares in MTN which is an indicator that the employees believe in the future of the company.
According to the Stanbic Bank Uganda CEO, Ms. Anne Jjuuko, out of the 4.4 billion shares that were offered, 2.9 billion have been allocated with 222 million of these being bonus shares. This unique transaction received 21,394 applicants, with 20,894 of these being Ugandans.
“In regional splits, 84% of the allocation was to Ugandans, 9% to East Africa, and 4% for the internationals. On retail versus professional investors, 10% is going to local hands who have invested up to UGX 54bn,” she added.
She also noted that MTN’s listing on the Uganda Securities Exchange is not only the largest IPO in the history of Uganda, but also the largest IPO in Africa currently.
The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, congratulated MTN Uganda for the successful execution of the biggest IPO ever seen in the country, noting that it is a big deal for the Government and
people of Uganda, as they now have a stake in one of the notable growth sectors in the country.
”This IPO and today’s listing of shares on the USE continues a long tradition of regulatory compliance and good corporate citizenship by MTN Uganda, which has contributed in a big way to your success in this country, in the last 23 years,” Dr Baromunsi said.
He added that Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), is one of those opportunities if well harnessed, which can create numerous jobs for the Ugandan young population. He urged Uganda Communications Commission, MTN Uganda, and all other telecommunications service providers to look into the affordability of broadband services and quality of voice calls for the benefit of Ugandans, as one of the bottlenecks in the uptake of BPO in Uganda is the quality of calls and the high cost of internet.
