Millicom positive on US IPO plans

Emerging markets Latin American telecoms operator Millicom is moving ahead with plans to list on a US stock exchange, seeing it as a win-win scenario, according to company CEO Mauricio Ramos.

Speaking during a conference call with investors, Ramos said that the response from its shareholders so far has been positive.

"It would give us enhanced liquidity and access to larger pools of investors, which is positive. For our shareholders a US listing would give them access to dividends in dollars.

"[We're seeing] little downside apart from some additional cost, it would be good for the business," Ramos said.

The executive added that the company is now at the stage of engaging with external lawyers and accountants and has hired consultants to help with Sarbanes Oxley compliance.

"We've had early discussions with the NYSE and the Nasdaq to better understand timing and cost. We see this as something that has tons of benefits, we're working on it but, as everything else we do, I expect us to be very diligent with this before making a final move on it," Ramos said.

Millicom reported its first quarter results on April 24, saying group service revenue was up 3.9% in the quarter to US$1.51bn.

Millicom's Latin American operations include Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Bolivia and Paraguay, while its African operations are in Chad, Tanzania and Ghana.

The company has been leaning more toward its Latin American operations in recent years. Millicom sold its Congo operations in 2016 and its Senegal unit in 2017. Also in 2017 the company agreed to combine both its Rwanda and Ghana units with Airtel.

Also this week, the company said that the US Justice Department had informed it that it had closed an investigation on "potential improper payments" in relation to its joint venture in Guatemala. The company was suspected of alleged illegal campaign financing and corruption.

Ramos commented that the investigation had closed, finding nothing to indict the company.