Ooredoo Maldives to go public on April 30

Telecom giant Ooredoo Maldives announced that it will officially go public on April 30 and inaugurated the venture late Tuesday.

The Maldivian branch of the Qatar based Ooredoo Group, which launched services in the archipelago 11 years ago, is to sell total 59.1 million company shares at a rate of MVR 30, which would earn the company a staggering MVR 1.7 billion. However, Ooredoo Maldives’ initial public offering is 22 million shares.

Ooredoo Maldives will commence stock sales from April 30 to May 28. An individual can purchase a minimum of 50 shares, which is total MVR 1,500 at a rate of MVR 30.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at Dharubaaruge convention centre in capital Male, Ooredoo Group’s Deputy CEO Waleed Al Sayed declared that Ooredoo Maldives is the fastest progressing branch from the corporate’s various branches operated across the world. Stating that the amount of shares sold by Ooredoo Maldives will increase annually, he assured that the public will profit greatly by purchasing stock.

Ooredoo Maldives’ Managing Director Vikram Sinha shed light on the company’s progress over the past few years. He stated that company profit has increased to 30 percent on average over the past three years and projected that its EBITDA will rise above 50 percent over the next three.

According to MD Sinha, Ooredoo Maldives’ revenue increased from MVR 702 million in 2013 to MVR 1.6 billion by the end of 2016, while the company’s profit spiked from 13 percent of revenue to 30 percent over the same period.

Noting that the company currently serves over 390,000 customers in the Maldives of which 90 percent are locals, MD Sinha added that Ooredoo wishes to include the local community on its journey to expand company capital and profit by going public. He also vowed that Ooredoo, which has currently invested over USD 190 million in the Maldives to advance the telecommunications sector, will use the profit from selling stock to further enhance its services and invest more.

Ooredoo Maldives earned a net profit of MVR 491 million in 2016. The company’s capital has thus increased to MVR 1.5 billion.