Ugandan president urges South African telecom giant to list locally

KAMPALA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has urged South African-owned telecommunication company MTN Group to list its shares on the local stock exchange to enable Ugandans to own part of it.

"Local ownership is important because it helps us stem capital flight which happens when the company is fully foreign owned," Museveni tweeted Thursday, saying that repatriating all profits with little value addition and wealth creation for Ugandans is "unfair."

Museveni said he met MTN Group Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and said they discussed an array of issues.

The president added that he also warned against the company's "underdeclaring calls" and "cheating our government of revenue," adding that "we have bought machines to track these calls."

MTN Group tweeted Wednesday that Shuter met Museveni and reaffirmed the company's commitment to Uganda. Recent market developments were also discussed.

The meeting was held days after Ugandan security agencies deported two senior employees of MTN Uganda, a French and a Rwandese, over subversive activities.

MTN Uganda, in response to the arrests and deportation, said it remains committed to operating within and respecting the laws of the country. Enditem