by truemamamia on Thu Sep 06, 2007 12:03 am
Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) is offering 42.7 per cent of its shares to the public to raise GH¢17.96 million (¢179.63 billion)to carry out a three-pronged programme.
Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) is offering 42.7 per cent of its shares to the public to raise GH¢17.96 million (¢179.63 billion) to carry out a programme of reinvigoration, rehabilitation and expansion.
The initial public offer (IPO) of the oil marketing company, the first by a state-owned enterprise, is going for Gp20 (¢2,000) per share and prospective buyers could subscribe a minimum of 300 shares, at GH¢60 (¢600,000) and thereafter in multiples of 100 shares.
The offer is being made to individuals and institutions resident in Ghana, individuals and institutions in a limited number of foreign jurisdictions whose laws allow them to invest under the terms of the offer.
In the event of an over-subscription, more than 12.9 million additional shares would be issued to bring the total shares on offer to 49 per cent, in an exercise which kicked off yesterday and expected to end on October 5, this year.
Interestingly, the offer has the Employee Ownership Plan to cede up to five per cent of the ownership to employees of the company, similar to what large international companies such as Google, Microsoft and Ghana’s Mechanical Lloyd are noted for.
The government, in its budgets two years ago, announced plans to divest itself considerably of some state-owned enterprises to enable the public to invest in them and also raise funds for national development.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Yaw Agyemang-Duah, said GOIL would be entitled to GH¢5 million (¢50 billion) of the proceeds to modernise and revamp selected stations, rehabilite and expand identified storage depots and diversify the company’s business areas.
He said the rest of the money, about ¢129 billion, would go to the government as the sole owner of the company.
The company, leader in the liquefied petroleum gas market, would expand that market by constructing a bigger storage facility, which would be linked directly to the port so as to extend its reach and ensure supply stability in the market.
It would also venture into the aviation fuel business for the first time, consolidate its bitumen business and prepare to take advantage of the natural gas to be pumped into the country under the West African Gas Pipeline Project.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, who launched the offer, advised Ghanaians to take advantage of it, as well as others in the pipeline, to invest into the future.
He said in addition to such floatation which the government intended to use to deepen the stock market, it was also working on automating the exchange and providing other resources to enable it to play its role meaningfully.
An economic advisor at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Sam Mensah, said the State Insurance Company Limited (SIC) was also gearing up for a similar exercise by next month.
Story by Samuel Doe Ablordeppey
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