Telco’s to enlist on country’s stock exchange- Tanzania’s parliament

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A new telecommunications bill has been passed by Tanzania’s parliament making it mandatory for all mobile network operators to list on the country’s Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE).The move has been cited as a retrograde step for the industry and has been facing vocal criticism from the firms.

According to Vodacom Tanzania’s head of legal and regulatory affairs, Mr Godwin Ngwilimi, the bill takes the country back to the era of nationalization when individuals were forced to sell their companies or shares to the government.

However, the government considers the bill justified in the wake of opeartor’s unfair treatment of end users and their withholding of billions to the state by way of taxes. If the bill is passed and becomes a law, domestic telcos will be forced to offer shares to the public and will also be required to list with the DSE within three years of it entering the statute.