GSE got it wrong — Vodafone
Vodafone Ghana has explained that the conditions of acquiring fourth generation long term evolution (4G LTE) license do not mandate the company to launch an initial public offer (IPO) on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).
Reacting to reports that the leadership of the GSE had called for pressure on the mobile phone company to list on the bourse following its recent acquisition of 4G LTE Licence, the External Affairs Director of Vodafone Ghana, Mr Gayheart Edem Mensah, said nowhere in the bid documents or the license condition was reference made to listing.
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“The notion of compelling Vodafone to list on the GSE is, therefore, misplaced,” he stated.
He said the bidding process for the 4G LTE licence required successful companies to ensure 25 per cent Ghanaian ownership of their operations, without spelling out listing on the GSE.
“Vodafone has already satisfied this requirement, since the Government of Ghana owns 30 per cent of the company.
An IPO on the exchange is, therefore, clearly not required,” Mr Mensah said in the statement.
He however emphasised that Vodafone had no aversion to listing or accommodating local participation in the company’s fortunes, as the publication suggested.
He said the company’s focus now was on ensuring that infrastructure was ready for the deployment and full-scale rollout of 4G as early as possible, stressing, “we remain committed to offering our customers the real 4G experience."
He said the company’s successful partnership with the government and the business’s investment in spectrum, infrastructure, products and services and staff were proof of its commitment to the country.
“We are proud to be Ghanaian and at the centre of the telecommunications revolution in the country,” he noted.