Africa-Press – Tanzania. DEPUTY Minister for Finance, Hamad Hassan Chande said yesterday that the government will consider making legal amendments to allow major mining companies to be listed in the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.
Mr Chande was responding to a supplementary question posed by Singida North lawmaker, Ramadhan Ighondo (CCM), who wanted to know when the government would consider listing to the stock exchange big companies like Barrick, Geita Gold Mine (GGM) and Shanta Gold.
“We understand that such companies holding Mining Licences or Special Mining Licences (SMLs) ought to issue Shares of Free Carried Interest (FCI) to the government, therefore, why shouldn’t the same government allow that they be listed in the stock exchange?’’ he asked.
In response, the deputy minister said that the government had received the advice, adding that it would engage stakeholders to see how best to handle the matter before coming up with legal changes.
The law imposes a mandatory requirement to mining companies in Tanzania to afford/grant the government a minimum of 16 per cent nondilutable free carried interest shares in the capital of a mining company.
In the primary question asked earlier, Geita Urban MP, Costantine Kanyasu (CCM) wanted to know the disadvantages and advantages of a company not to comply with the Law of listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE).
Responding, Mr Chande noted that according to the law, only telecommunications companies are required to sell shares to the public and be listed on the stock exchange apart from those companies in which the government owns 25 per cent or more of the shares and companies that provide mobile tower services.
He said that companies listing on the stock exchange have numerous benefits, including increasing capital, improving efficiency and productivity as well as enabling the government to obtain appropriate revenue.
Others are recognising the true value of its shares, where shareholders will get the value of their shares when they want to sell following market trends, namely demand and supply, providing citizens the opportunity to buy shares and thus enabling them to participate in the country’s economy.
“The stock market also offers opportunities for investors who wish to sell their investments when they need money,’’ he said.
He added: “Shareholders of a company that is not listed on the stock exchange face challenges in not knowing the true value of their investments due to lack of liquidity of their shares.’’
These companies are often characterised by a lack of transparency, preventing the government and shareholders from obtaining appropriate information regarding business operations and finances.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
