The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it received MTN’s request for listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
SEC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Efe Ebelo, said in an email to journalists that the commission is “in receipt of an application from MTN requesting registration of their existing securities.
“They have applied for listing by introduction which will enable the company to be listed and allow shareholders sell their shares on the floor of the exchange.
“Their application is presently receiving attention,” the statement said.
Over the years, there have been calls for the telecom giant to list on the equity market.
However, after its last brush with regulatory authorities, the company indicated its readiness to list on the nation’s stock market before July.
Listing on the NSE was one of the conditions reached in the resolution of a N330 billion fine placed on the company by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its inability to disconnect improperly registered SIM cards.
Recently, MTN Chief Executive Officer, Fredi Moolman, said the listing was part of its commitment to localize its operations in Nigeria.
According to Moolman, “Our conversion to a Plc is a major step towards listing by introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the first half of 2019.
“It is a reaffirmation of our long-term commitment to expanding investment opportunities for Nigerians, in addition to providing everyday services to them.
“We look forward to continuing our engagement with the SEC and NSE to take forward the listing process.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s first Professor of the Capital market, Uche Uwaleke, has hailed MTN’s move by saying two trillion would be to the market.
He noted that it would further help introduce diversification into the market as it will spur more multinational companies to list on the Exchange.
“We are happy about the development because it will further deepen the market if MTN comes, we are looking at additional N2 trillion being added to market capitalisation and it will make MTN the second largest quoted company in Nigeria after Dangote Cement,” he said.
“This will help to diversify concentration, we will now have telecommunications, industrial sector and not when it’s only Dangote.
“It’s a welcome development and the capital market community is in jubilation mood and we are anxiously waiting for that to materialise, because it will help to deepen the market and give Nigerians the opportunity to partake in the fortunes of MTN,” Uwaleke stated.
He noted that MTN listing would widen the choices of both local and foreign investors in terms of investment decision.
“It is also a door opener for other multinationals to come and be part of success story of Nigerian capital market by seeking listing, especially those in telecommunications sector such as Globacom and Etisalat, among others.
“We expect the big four to come and list on the exchange. The same with oil companies, Shell is not yet listed but we also know that in South Africa, the downstream sector is listed on Johannesburg Stock Exchange,” Uwaleke said.
