No IPO after 4G Acquisition – Vodafone CEO

Vodafone Ghana is not planning to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange following its acquisition of the 4G licence from the NCA a week ago.

The National Communications Authority (NCA) announced late last year that Vodafone was the only successful company to secure the 4G licence after a second bidding process in September 2018.

The company is now set to pay an amount of US$30million for the LTE technology.

As part of the requirement for deploying the technology, the regulator had a clause in the bidding document that enjoins a winning company to list 25% of its shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange for the benefit of Ghanaians.

However, Vodafone Chief Executive, Yolanda Cuba says the business has already met this requirement due to government's 30% ownership in the company.

"We are not listing on the Ghana Stock. As it stands now, Ghanaians own 30% of the company through the Government of Ghana; this far exceeds the percentage required for listing so we have already satisfied that criteria. Our focus now is on restructuring our infrastructure in readiness for 4G deployment by the second quarter of this year. We know it'll take thrice the amount, used in purchasing the licence, to deploy and we are committed to making that possible.”

Vodafone believes that its access to the 4G spectrum will contribute to a vision of igniting Ghana’s digital revolution.

The licence also highlights a positive end to the 2018 year for Vodafone Group, which is celebrating a decade of existence in Ghana's telecoms industry.