Vodacom has concluded the initial public offering of its Tanzanian subsidiary on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange in Tanzania, trading at a 6% premium to the offer price by the market close on Tuesday.

The South African-headquartered mobile telecommunications operator said the IPO is the largest in the 19-year history of the Tanzanian exchange.

The listing raised 476bn shillings (about R2.9bn).

The company listed its local operation because of regulatory changes in Tanzania that require all of the East African nation’s telecoms companies to float at least 25% of their shares on the Dar es Salaam exchange.

Listed on the main investment market segment of the bourse under the ticker “Voda”, shares in Vodacom Tanzania closed at 900 shillings, just shy of 6% higher than the 850 shilling listing price.

“The first official trade was recorded as a thousand shares at 900 shillings each,” Vodacom said in a statement. “More than 40 000 Tanzanian investors participated in the IPO, along with all major pension funds, which ultimately invest on behalf of a large part of the Tanzanian population.”

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said many local investors have become first-time participants in the Tanzanian exchange through the listing. “It significantly boosts local participation in the country’s capital markets,” he said.