By Aaron Ukodie
The listing, in 2019, at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by two telecom giants, MTN and Airtel has had positive impact on the economy, according to a document released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The NCC said that listing at NSE continued to be assessed positively by history as it has boosted the capital market operation through the Commission’s smart regulatory activities.
The listing according to the regulatory agency has also helped to achieve the yearnings of Nigerians to have increased stakes in the telecoms sector and has helped to make the capital market bullish.
Touted by the Commission as one of its remarkable achievements in 2019, the listing has bolstered the entire economy.
Speaking on the achievement, the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said “The MTN listing has helped to translate into action, an important objective of the Commission, which is to promote local investment and ownership in the telecom sector. Also, with MTN’s shares available in the capital market, it is expected that Nigerians will buy shares and by purchasing the shares of MTN, they will be financially empowered and be socially transformed.”
According to Danbatta, “One of the benefits of MTN listing and those of other operators to follow, therefore, is that the telcos would be able to raise more capital for network expansion which, in turn, will bring about an improvement in the quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) for the consumers of telecoms services, which is also a cardinal function of the Commission.”
Capital market regulator and shareholder bodies continue to commend the effort of the NCC in making the capital market more resilient through facilitating the listing of MTN, a move that was fallout of the conditions the telecom regulator gave MTN following the telco’s violation of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) registration rule in the telecommunications sector.
At the time it listed at the NSE, on May 16, 2019, the MTN admittance to the Nigeria’s trading house was the second largest with 20.4 billion shares, at N90 per share valued at N1.84 trillion (about $5 billion).
Airtel followed suit with its listing on July 9, with 3,758,151,504 ordinary shares, with at an offer price of N363 per ordinary share, adding about N1.36 trillion to the capital market.
Truly, MTN listing at the NSE was not a voluntary decision. It came about through several rebuffed efforts by the NCC to force MTN to list at the NSE. The NCC had determined that the listing of MTM would ensure industry sustainability and level-playing field for all stakeholders in the industry. The relentless efforts paid off in 2019.
