President Yoweri Museveni has praised telecom giant MTN for deciding to float its shares in Uganda.
Museveni was on Wednesday meeting with leaders of MTN Group days after company also announced it would be investing shs1trn in network expansion.
“I met leaders of the @MTNGroup led by their chairman Mcebisi Jonas. The meeting comes just days after @mtnug arrived at an internal decision to float their shares. Now, these people have also told me of their plan to invest US$300m in network expansion in the next 3 years!” Museveni said.
He added, “I am very happy with the localization strategy of giving shares to Ugandans. It is very important. Ugandans (who have started waking up from sleep/ kulambaala) will now be partners in all the activities of mtn.”
MTN’s decision followed the requisite approval by the Capital Markets Authority and Uganda Securities Exchange for MTN Group to sell 20% of its shareholding in MTN Uganda to the public. MTN Group owns 96% of MTN Uganda.
“The intention to float announcement is a major step towards delivering on our plan to list on the USE,” said Charles Mbire, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, MTN Uganda. “It is a reaffirmation of our long-term commitment to expand investment opportunities for Ugandans and we look forward to continuing our engagement with the CMA and USE to take forward the IPO and the listing.”
MTN Uganda’s initial public offering is expected to raise almost double what Uganda’s capital market has raised since its inception, Keith Kalyegira, CEO of the Capital Markets Authority said on Tuesday.
The Uganda Securities Exchange says it has raised $623 million since its inception in 1998.
MTN Uganda contributes an annual average of approximately UGX700 billion to the government treasury through taxes paid on its own account and as a withholding agent of government, making MTN the largest taxpayer in Uganda for the past decade.