Celtel Zambia, the country's largest mobile firm, lists 20 percent of its
shares on the Lusaka Stock Exchange. The company predicts that its subscriber
base will reach 2.7 million by December 2008.

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (APRIL 8, 2008) (REUTERS)

Celtel Zambia, the country's largest mobile firm, on Tuesday (April
8) has listed 20 percent of its shares on the Lusaka Stock Exchange. The
company had earlier predicted its subscriber base would reach 2.7 million by
December 2008.
    Celtel Zambia is a unit of Celtel, which is owned by Kuwait's MTC
TELE.KW and runs networks in 14 African countries.
    "Indicative date for opening of the share offer to the public has
been set for the 28th of April 2008. Celtel is going to list just over 5
billion shares on the stock exchange and, at the same time, there will be an
offer for sale to the public of just over 1 billion shares which represents 20
percent of Celtel Zambia's shares," said David Venn, Celtel Zambia's
Managing Director.
    Celtel has 80 percent of the Zambian market and competes with MTN and
Cell-Z, a subsidiary of the state Zambia Tele-communications Company Ltd.
    "We believe that this will provide an excellent opportunity for
the Zambian public, everyone that wants to participate, the Zambian public,
the Zambian institutions, to own a share in what I think is a great Zambian
company, and to participate and share in its future success," added
Venn.
    Official data shows that only 21 percent of Zambia's 11.5 million
people currently use mobile phones and the government is encouraging its
citizens to buy the Celtel shares so they too can benefit from the growing
telecommunications industry.
    "We want you to focus on the ordinary Zambian. Let the ordinary
Zambian participate in the acquisition of these shares. The guy that is moving
around with a mobile phone should be an owner, a part owner, of Celtel,"
said Zambia's Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati.
    In East Africa, Kenya's government is selling a 25 percent stake for 50
billion shillings (800 million U.S dollars) in the country's dominant mobile
phone provider Safaricom. Ten billion shares are on offer in the Safaricom
IPO, of which 65 percent have been allocated to local investors with the rest
going to foreign buyers.
    Demand for African mobile assets is booming as operators from South
Africa, Europe and the Middle East pay fat multiples for a slice of some of
the world's last unsaturated markets.