MTN Ghana IPO in Full Swing as Ghana Corporate Governance Questioned
It’s unusual to have commentary on corporate governance and investor protection in the news so I have replicated verbatim this article on Ghana companies law and shareholder protection. Here is the source. The accentuation of narratives below are mine but first a bit of back story. As the Ghana MTN IPO provides the first real […]
It’s unusual to have commentary on corporate governance and investor protection in the news so I have replicated verbatim this article on Ghana companies law and shareholder protection. Here is the source. The accentuation of narratives below are mine but first a bit of back story.
As the Ghana MTN IPO provides the first real opportunity for Africans to invest digitally and thereafter receive corporate communications digitally. This is new ground for everyone. The levels of awareness regarding progressive corporate governance in the investor relations digital sphere in Africa are low.
The definition of investor relations is
“a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two‐way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company’s securities achieving fair valuation.”
I have concerns that the MTN Ghana IPO investor relations practices are inadequate and this will result in an over-hyped IPO. With respect to ongoing investor communications the direct communications channels afforded by MTN Ghana’s digital channels are a fantastic tool and should provide more assurance than ever, that shareholders will receive their voting materials and investor communications in a timely manner. I am sure that fully digital AGMs and voting mechanisms will be put in place. It’s funny that old governance principles still apply in the modern day…
MTN Ghana directors may not know it, but in accordance with long standing corporate governance principles, they have an obligation to use digital and social channels in shareholder communications. They are doing it. But are they doing it in the knowledge of investor relations best practices.
The downside however is thus:-
It is not clear whether the MTN Ghana corporate governance and investor relations function is implementing suitably defined standards of high level policies and principles focused on protecting shareholder rights. If there is no such formalisation, then there soon will be, should any issue related to corporate governance communications go awry. Whether or not Ghanaian law is in place to support any progressive stance on these issues remains to be seen and the article below suggests that it won’t. The MTN Ghana IPO is a fine opportunity for MTN to lead investor relations practices in Africa in the digital and social media realm.
“This is a fine time for MTN Ghana to set the lead not only in Ghana but in Africa in digital investor relations”
View the MTN Ghana company page
Read the complete article: Rob Stangroom (AfricanFinancials CEO) LinkedIn
The contents of the post above were obtained from third parties, which We, AfricanFinancials, believe to be reliable. However, We do not guarantee their accuracy and the above information may be in condensed form. The reader is encouraged to refer to the original source of the information, which, in most cases, is in PDF format and on the originating company’s letterhead. While We endeavour to replicate the original content accurately, We cannot guarantee the absence of errors in the above article and We disclaim any liability regarding reliance on information provided in this article.
