MTN Uganda shares rose 3% on Monday on its first day of trading on the Ugandan bourse after its initial public offering (IPO) to sell a stake in the company.
The telecom operator, a unit of South Africa’s MTN Group (MTNJ.J), launched its IPO offering in October aiming to sell a 20% stake, pricing the 4.5 billion shares on sale at 200 shillings each.
Results of the IPO on Friday showed MTN Uganda had secured just 60% of its target amount, raising 536 billion Ugandan shillings ($151 million). MTN Group’s shareholding fell to 83.05% from 96% with the listing, the Ugandan unit said.
The price climbed to 206 shillings after trading began.
“We are delighted with the successful completion of the offer,” MTN Uganda Chairman Charles Mbire said at a listing ceremony.
MTN Uganda has a subscriber base of 15 million and offers mobile money financial services. Its parent company said in October it planned to invest 1 trillion shillings over the next three years to improve coverage in the country.
