Staff Reporter
MTC’s Chief Human Capital & Corporate Affairs Officer Tim Ekandjo, says that despite the high uptake of MTC shares currently exceeding expectations, there are still enough shares for every Namibian who wish to apply for them. MTC’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) opened on 20 September and will close on 01 November 2021.
“We wish to assure the public that there are still enough shares available for everybody to apply for,” said Ekandjo. MTC has made available 367 500 000 shares at a share price of N$8.50 per share. A minimum of 200 shares need to be applied for when applying for MTC shares, translating into a minimum of about N$1 700.00 per application.
The major objective of the planned listing of the country’s dominant mobile telecommunications provider is to develop the country’s financial sector. This is according to public enterprises minister Leon Jooste who recently responded to questions in parliament on the first-ever listing of a state-owned enterprise.
“Currently, a significant amount of savings leaves the country for investment outlets in other countries. These savings can now be invested at home in MTC. Through our pension funds and insurance policies many Namibians will now become shareholders of MTC,” Jooste stated.
The much-anticipated MTC listing is expected to increase the market capitalisation of the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX) from some N$29 billion to about N$35 billion.
The listing prospectus also shows that selected Namibian institutional investors already provided pre-commitments to subscribe for a minimum of 282 million shares, totalling some N$2.4 billion, ahead of the IPO. This is as MTC aims to raise over N$3.1 billion from the total company valued at N$6.4 billion.
Members of the public waiting to become part owners of the country’s oldest and biggest telecommunications company through its IPO scheduled between 20 September and 01 November 2021, should visit the MTC website, visit their nearest mobilehome or selected Nampost outlets to purchase their shares. In fact, when MTC board chairman Theo Mberirua initially confirmed the IPO, he assured the public there will be more than enough shares available and encouraged all Namibians to apply and become part owners of MTC. Preference will be given to Namibian retail or individual investors above institutional and foreign investors, including customers and staff, during the share allocation process.