The Nigerian government is currently in talks with other shareholders in state-owned telecoms companies to launch IPOs on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the country’s finance minister, was quoted saying during a visit to the…
The Nigerian government is currently in talks with other shareholders in state-owned telecoms companies to launch IPOs on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the country’s finance minister, was quoted saying during a visit to the stock exchange at the weekend that discussions are ongoing to establish a roadmap for the listings. The aim is for Nigeria’s stock market to become the premier stock exchange for Africa, she stressed, according to local newspaper The Nation.
Omobola Johnson, the communication technology minister, added that the information and communication industry is the fastest growing sector of the country’s economy, contributing 8.5% to its GDP. Therefore “we need to ensure that companies in the sector are listed on the stock exchange”, she reportedly said.
However, “there are a number of things that need to be sorted out; these are very large companies”, Johnson added.
Mobile operator Starcomms and towerco IHS are listed on the NSE. But it remains unclear whether the government will try to float its main state-owned telecoms operator, Nitel, which has faced financial difficulties for several years now.
Previous attempts by the government to privatise the struggling company and its mobile subsidiary M-Tel have failed. In mid-July, a liquidator was appointed to push the sale of the company via a “guided liquidation”.
However, according to Nigeria’s senate committee on privatisation and commercialisation, Nitel should not be liquidated. In late May, senator Olugbenga Obadara reportedly said the liquidation plan was not in the best interests of the country. Instead, Nitel should be turned into a public-private partnership to create more jobs. Eventually, the PPP could be floated on the country’s stock exchange, he was quoted as saying at the time.
