MTN Uganda Achieves 20% Public Float on USE, Exceeding IPO Expectations and Strengthening Market Participation

MTN Uganda has achieved a 20 percent public float on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), complying with the minimum public float requirement outlined in rule 32 (7) of the USE rules, 2021.

In 2021, MTN listed 20 percent of its shares on the USE, initially achieving a 12.97 percent public float from the Initial Public Offering (IPO). The telecom company committed to meeting the remaining 7.03 percent float by December 5, 2024.

This milestone follows the completion of a secondary market offer for share purchases, which took place from May 27, 2024, to June 10, 2024. During the announcement of the secondary market offer results at the MTN headquarters in Kampala, USE CEO Paul Bwiso disclosed that the exchange approved the offer and suspended MTN from trading for two weeks. This allowed Ugandans time to participate, assess the company’s fundamentals, and take advantage of share incentives and dividends, leading to significant participation.

“MTN’s market capitalisation is Shs 3.8 trillion, representing 32.3 percent of the total local market capitalisation of Shs 11.8 trillion. This growth is evident in the trading turnover we’ve seen since the IPO,” Bwiso said.

Grace Semakula from SBG Securities, MTN Uganda’s lead sponsoring broker, reported that MTN offered 1,574,807,373 shares to the market, with a subscription rate of 230 percent—the strongest local market issuance to date. This translates to an oversubscription of 130 percent.

“We received numerous applications from both existing and new investors, increasing the company’s shareholder base to over 20,000. The average retail investment was Shs 13.4 million per applicant,” said Semakula.

MTN Uganda Chairman Charles Mbire celebrated the successful secondary market offer, which saw approximately 19,600 Ugandan investors acquire stakes in the company.

“We are proud to have facilitated a broad shareholder base in Uganda, enhancing regional participation and further developing the equity capital markets,” Mbire stated.

MTN Uganda CEO Sylvia Mulinge announced that investors on the register as of June 12, 2024, including new participants in the secondary offer, are eligible for the next dividend payment of Shs 143 billion, or Shs 6.4 per share, to be paid by June 25, 2024. This brings the total dividends paid since the December 2021 IPO to Shs 864 billion.