The price of shares in MTN’s Ghana unit rose 4 percent to 0.78 cedis on its stock market debut on the Ghana bourse on Wednesday, traders and exchange managers said.
The Ghana unit of Africa’s largest mobile telecoms group began trading 1.5 million shares on the local exchange after an initial public offering that yielded about a third of its initial 3.47 billion Ghanaian cedis ($734 million) target.
The 60-day public offering, which closed at the end of July, formed part of requirements MTN agreed with Ghanaian regulators in 2015 to allow for the introduction of its fourth generation, high-speed mobile data network.
The company’s managers said that 127,653 of its 128,152 shareholders are retail investors.
MTN Ghana is the first telecoms company on Ghana Stock Exchange with the largest volume of shares offered.
“It brings in liquidity, greater participation, while introducing a very vibrant sector of the economy,” said Ekow Afedzi, GSE deputy managing director.
MTN is the leading mobile operator in Ghana with 17.8 million voice subscribers, ahead of AirtelTigo, Vodafone and Nigeria’s Globacom. ($1 = 4.7275 Ghanian cedi)
Reuters
