By John Churu, Gaborone, Botswana
Applications for Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) shares, through the BTCL Initial Public Offering (IPO) opened on Monday 11th January 2016 to a strong reception from the public. Within two days of the Offer Opening, and with Prospectus copies availed in outlets across the country, all outlets reported incredibly high demand and interest. Over 15,000 copies of the Prospectus have been collected and over 10,000 copies have been downloaded thus far.
Eager Batswana queued in BTCL and Barclays Bank branches, determined to collect a Prospectus for what is already the biggest IPO in Botswana’s history. To date, thousands have already completed their applications and submitted to Barclays Bank branches across the country.
Paul Taylor, Managing Director of BTCL said, “Batswana, it seems, have been thirsty for a way to diversify their investment and their income outside or even beyond the traditional means. We are humbled by the incredible reception only a few days into the Offer Opening Period and thank Batswana for expressing such interest and excitement in the BTCL IPO. This only makes us more confident in the future owners of this marvelous business.”
Copies of the BTCL IPO Prospectus are available in all BTCL and Barclays Bank branches, selected Choppies and BotswanaPost outlets, at the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) and offices of licensed stockbrokers (Imara Capital, Motswedi, Stockbrokers Botswana and African Alliance). Batswana have been advised to check their next closest outlet should they find copies of the Prospectus are temporarily finished. They can also download the online version at www.btc.bw or www.bse.co.bw.
“We assure the public that our distribution efforts for the BTCL IPO Prospectus are intense and expansive as is deserving of such an incredibly large scale initiative. All outlets will continue to receive additional copies, and it is important that the public do not panic should they not find a copy upon first enquiry,” continued Taylor. “It needs to be borne in mind that the Offer Period is open until the 4th of March 2016, and applications are being received until then. This means Batswana do need not rush, as shares will not be distributed on a first come first served basis. All Offers will be processed if made before 17h00 on 4th March 2016. BTCL ke ya rona rotlhe.”
The BTCL IPO Prospectus has 10 copies of Individual Application Forms within it to allow for several people (such as a family unit or members of a common group) to share one Prospectus. Each Prospectus also includes 5 copies of Corporate Application Forms. Those in need of only a single Application Form are encouraged to pass on the Prospectus for others to benefit in this truly historic opportunity in Botswana’s history.
Meanwhile, analysts issued a ‘strong buy’ recommendation for BTCL. “We strongly recommend investors to buy the stock during the IPO and also subsequent to listing as BTCL provides significant growth potential to investors.
According to Motswedi securities, the price of BTCL shares is significantly below potential and this provides room for growth.
“We are targeting a price of 180 thebe for the stock, using a conservative valuation method this gives an 80 percent upside potential against the IPO price of 100 thebe per share,” the researchers told the press.
