This week was another action-packed one in matters business. Kikubolane.com brings a summary of the business news that occurred in the week.
Uganda’s economy creates more jobs in November
Uganda’s private sector created more jobs in the month of November more than it had created in the last four months, a new report shows.
According to Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Purchase Managers’ Index (PMI), both output and new orders increased for the fourth month running in November.
The rise in wages was the first in six months and came alongside renewed job creation. “The health of the private sector has now strengthened in each of the past four months,” said Ronald Muyanja, the Head of Trading at Stanbic Bank.
Muyanja said this points to stronger demand and higher customer numbers and that, for the third month running, all five monitored sectors saw output increase.
MTN Uganda officially lists on Securities Exchange after ‘successful’ IPO
Telecom giant MTN Uganda on Monday, 06 December 2021 officially listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) after the conclusion of what the company described as a successful IPO.
MTN Uganda CEO Wim Vanhelleputte said the recently concluded IPO has made it possible for the people of East Africa to own part of the company through the purchase of the shares.
“This has been a successful journey. We put in hundreds of hours to ensure that this is a success. The success of this IPO stamps the true story of Uganda being our home,” said Vanhelleputte.
“From less than 4 percent of Ugandans who had shares in MTN, am happy to report that the more than 15 percent of Ugandans now own MTN Uganda,” he added.
The MTN CEO also said 65 percent of their employees and 100 percent of their senior managersbought shares in the company.
NSSF purchases Shs350b worth of MTN shares
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) purchased 1.9 billion shares from the MTN Initial Public Offering (IPO), making it the second-largest shareholder in MTN Uganda.
According to results from the MTN Initial Public Offering (IPO), NSSF spent about Shs350b, to purchase the shares, representing about 8.84 percent of the total percentage shareholding in the telecom firm.
MTN opened the IPO on October 11 and it ended on November 22. A total of 4,477,808,848, representing 20% was put on offer by MTN International, which holds the majority stake in MTN Uganda. Each share was priced at sh200.
Results from the IPO show that only 2,902,003,800 shares out the 4,477,808,848 were allocated to investors.
A total number of 21,394 individuals and corporate persons participated in the IPO out of which 20,894 were Ugandan retail and institutional investors, representing 98% of the total number of participants.
CEO Forum: Museveni pledges to lower cost of doing business in Uganda
President Yoweri Museveni highlighted what he described as the three priority sectors including electricity, transport and money, his government will focus on to lower the cost of production and spur business growth.
“We are determined to bring the cost of electricity down to US$5cents for manufacturing. We also need to bring down the costs of transport that is why we are struggling with the railway from Kenya and Tanzania, we want that to come down. Also the cost of money for manufacturing, agriculture, services like tourism, hospitality and professional services like medical and private schools needs to come down,” he said.
The President was last weekend addressing Chief Executive Officers of various businesses in Uganda who are attending a 3-day retreat hosted by the Presidential CEO Forum (PCF) at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi.
NEMA, UNBS start joint operations to enforce kaveera ban
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) announced a crackdown against importation, manufacture, distribution and use of plastic carrier bags commonly known as kaveera.
This comes after Cabinet in July reinstated the ban on manufacturing, use, and importation of polythene bags.
According to UNBS executive director, Mr David Livingstone Ebiru, there is an existing ban on manufacture and importation of kaveera below 30 microns but many manufacturers have continued to abuse this.
Uganda’s power sector is Africa’s best regulated – report
For the fourth consecutive year, Uganda’s electricity sector is Africa’s best regulated across a number of key metrics, according to the African Development Bank’s 2021 Electricity Regulatory Index.
Other strong performers include East African neighbours, Kenya and Tanzania, as well as Namibia and Egypt.
The 2021 Electricity Regulatory Index, an annual report, covered 43 countries, up from 36 in the previous edition, and assessed their impact on the performance of their electricity sectors.
The index covered 3 countries in the North Africa region; 14 in West Africa; 6 in Central Africa; 7 in East Africa; and 13 in the Southern Africa region.
“The unprecedented participation of so many countries shows the commitment to strengthen the countries’ regulatory environment with a view to improving the performance of the respective electricity sectors,” said Dr. Kevin Kariuki, the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth.
Among the 2021 report’s key highlights are that regulatory independence is one sub-indicator where African countries have room to improve: in 93% of sampled countries, governments, and stakeholders exercise influence over regulatory authorities.
Parliament approves East African Crude Oil Pipeline Bill
Parliament approved the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Bill to pave way for the full implementation of the oil pipeline project in Uganda.
The law will facilitate the implementation of Uganda’s obligations under the Host Government Agreement signed between Uganda, Tanzania and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Company Ltd.
Passed during the plenary chaired by the deputy speaker Anita Among on Thursday afternoon, the bill will enable the implementation of the local content and ensure that Ugandan citizens and enterprises are given priority when it comes to labor and other resources.
Sixteen categories of goods and services such as transportation, security, hotel accommodation and catering, and civil works are reserved for Ugandans.
Ruth Nankabirwa, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development notes that the approved legislation includes different proposals from the Opposition following the harmonization committee set up by the Deputy Speaker.
The approved piece of legislation also provides for the tariff regime applicable to the project during the different phases of operation such as construction and operation period, ensures that the EACOP project obtains the required authorizations in a timely manner, grant and protect the rights of the project land including enabling the government to support the project in the acquisition of land and others.