MTN launches IPO in Upper West Region

MTN Ghana unveiled its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Wa, the Upper West regional capital, on Tuesday, giving Ghanaians in the Region the unique opportunity to own shares in the country’s telecommunication giant company.

The IPO launch in Wa comes after the telecom giant successfully unveiled same in Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani and Takoradi to open way for the public to take advantage of the share offer, which began Tuesday 29th May, and expected to end on July 31, 2018.

MTN is listing its shares to meet conditions agreed in 2015 when it acquired the right for the 4G license.

Mr. Eric Nsarkoh, MTN Ghana Executive for Sales and Distribution, encouraged interested applicants to contact the company’s receiving Banks or visit MTN branches to buy the shares.

He said MTN was also allowing the public to buy the shares through mobile money wallets, stressing: ”This is the first time mobile money will be used to buy shares in an IPO anywhere in the world.”

“With about 160,000 mobile money subscribers here in the Upper West Region, we expect those who were interested in using that channel to have a smooth and convenient experience,” he added.

Mr Nsarko said MTN also waived the charges for mobile money users for this specific transaction.

As the company entrenched its position as the leading telecom business in Ghana, officials were hopeful the transaction would have the positive impact on the local market in Upper West and the country at large and help expand the frontiers of inclusion, he said.

He also noted that the company continued to lead the way with many firsts in services, including attaining national coverage in the country’s 10 administrative regions, first to launch 3G, mobile money, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Foundation and nationwide 4G mobile service, among others.

The company’s excitement is deeply rooted in the benefits Ghanaians continue to enjoy as MTN keeps on maintaining its track record of investing in the business, focusing on high growth opportunities and delivering attractive financial returns.

The benefits include double-digit revenue, strong profit margins and dividend payout target of 60 per cent to shareholders.

MTN recorded more than 200,000 retailers and significantly contributed to Ghana’s job creation agenda through mobile money business, which had over 100,000 merchant points nationwide, who received about GH¢226 million as commission in 2017.

“In discharging our honest response to the State, MTN paid a total of GH¢1.059 billion as taxes for the year 2017”, Mr Nsarkoh added: the MTN Ghana Foundation was also well resourced to continue to invest in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment.

He said the MTN Business Division also rolled out fibre to over 14,000 homes within one year, noting: In Upper West Region, the company had 28 3G sites and 12 4G sites at the end of 2017.

This year, he said, some 2G sites in the Region would be upgraded to 3G in addition to two 4G sites, which have already been deployed by MTN.