Viettel Tanzania Limited Company (Halotel) is completing an IPO prospectus and corporate valuation in preparation for its IPO filing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in Tanzania this month, Viettel Global reported.

This is assumed to be the first listing of a Vietnamese company in a foreign market.

Tanzania is the second largest telecoms market in East Africa behind Kenya, with a penetration of 79 per cent of the total population. Tanzanian law requires telecommunication companies to sell the public 25 per cent of their stakes and list on the stock exchange.

Halotel, a subsidiary of Viettel Global, is among seven telecommunication companies in Tanzania which provide landline and mobile phone operation services.

The Vietnamese company has hired five compulsory consultation services for a regulated IPO transaction and is preparing its prospectus to file for the public sale this April, Viettel Global said in an email to Viet Nam News.

“Tanzania’s Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) is careful when approving IPO plans of telecom operators because they understand the market cannot absorb a massive amount of shares,” Viettel Global said.

The local stock market is small with total market capitalisation of about US$9.72 billion in 2016.

The IPO requirements apply to all companies in the telecommunications sector including mobile operators, landline operators, Internet providers, broadcasters and transmission firms. About 89 companies are assumed to qualify.

Halotel, launched in October 2015, is Viettel’s fourth investment in Africa after Movitel, Lumitel and Nexttel in Mozambique, Burundi and Cameroon, respectively. The company has attracted three million subscribers in the first 15 months of operation. It reported total sales of about $21.5 million in the first six months of 2016. — VNS