14 February 2022

Airtel Uganda is preparing to list part of its capital on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), the local stock exchange and said that “discussions are underway internally” on the move.

David Birungi, Airtel Uganda’s public relations manager, said the telecom company will inform the public about the details of the deal once the discussions are complete. The operator will have to publish, among other details, the price of the shares to be sold, the process of acquisition by local investors, the timetable of the whole IPO operation.

Airtel Uganda’s proposed IPO comes about a month after rival MTN Uganda offered 4.47 billion ordinary shares at USh200 (US$0.057) per share. The company eventually raised USh535,939,900,000 (US$152 million) during its initial public offering (IPO), which ran from October 11 to November 22, 2021. The company officially went public December 6.

Under new rules established by the government in 2019, officially effective in 2020, any telecom licence renewal will see the affected operator to list up to 20% of its capital on the stock exchange within two years of acquiring the new operating title. Airtel Uganda paid US$74.6m in December 2020 to continue operating in the country for 20 years. According to regulations, the company “must be in good standing” by the end of this year.