MTN Zakhele cleared for lift-off

·24 Jan 2014

MTN says it will resume the trading of its R13.8 billion broad based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) scheme, MTN Zakhele on 29 January.

The programme has been beset by glitches and delays since its initial launch on 25 November 2013. Trading was suspended shortly after launch to enhance the platform’s capacity.

“The trading platform was thoroughly tested following these enhancements. Additionally, the capacity of the call centre has also been increased to handle a higher volume of calls,” MTN said.

The group was supposed to resume share trading on 17 December 2013, after suspending inital trade. That date was, however, pushed back to 2 December; but MTN admitted that the level of interest had far exceeded expectations with the system not designed for such volumes.

Following system enhancements and testing in December 2013, MTN Zakhele said it was required to engage with the regulatory authorities in order to apprise them of the upgraded system and results of testing.

“MTN Zakhele has now received the requisite approval from the regulatory authorities for trading to resume,” the group said in a statement.

MTN Zakhele chairman, Thulani Gcabashe said: “We sincerely regret the delays and the inconvenience which users have experienced. We are confident that the updated system is robust and will be able to accommodate higher volumes of activity upon resumption of trading on Wednesday.”

MTN Zakhele owns 4% of MTN Group Limited’s (MTN) total issued ordinary shares, which are owned by approximately 120,000 black investors.

By the end of the first day of trade, about 93,000 MTN Zakhele shares with a total value of R8.1 million changed hands. MTN Zakhele closed at R84 per share.

On the second day, over 100,000 shares to the value of R7.8 million were traded. The MTN Zakhele shares closed at R80 per share on Tuesday, 26 November.