EXPLAINER: How to buy MTN shares for N3,380 in 10 easy steps on your phone

In May 2019, MTN Nigeria (MTNN) was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), immediately adding over N1.8 trillion to the market cap of the exchange. This marked one of the biggest leaps forward for the stock market in Nigeria. 

A year on, Bloomberg named Nigeria the best performing stock exchange in the world, posting a 50 percent gain at the end of 2020. The Lagos bourse closed with the highest points since December 2007, beating 92 other stock exchanges around the world.

At the time MTN Nigeria was listed, many Nigerians sought to invest in the telecommunications giant, but were limited by how tightly held the shares were, and the rigorous process involved in getting a hold of valuable stock on the NSE.

That story is changing.

Despite being the second most valuable company in Nigeria, only behind Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria is offering 14 percent of its tightly-held shares to the Nigerian public.

Of the entire MTN Nigeria share, approximately 79 percent is held by MTN Group. However, the group is currently letting go of 14 percent of its holding to as many Nigerians who are interested — making it the biggest member of the bourse to make such an offer.

The best part of the deal is that any Nigerian with a bank verification number  (BVN) can buy MTN shares, and for as low as N3,380 on a mobile phone.

HOW TO BUY MTN SHARES FOR AS LOW AS N3,380

Many Nigerians are interested in buying a piece of MTN, but are not interested in the rigour and the hurdles of natively buying the shares of a company listed on the Nigerian exchange.

After analysing the process firsthand, TheCable can report that the steps are a lot easier and a lot cheaper to go through as against the traditional ways of buying shares in Nigeria. We have since broken it down into 10 easy steps as seen in the infographic above and explained below.

Start with an app: For this process, you would need a smartphone. Go to your phone’s app store.

Download App: Download the Primary Offer app from the Google Play store or the Apple iOS store to your mobile device. The app is made by Chapel Hill Denham, watch out for that. With a good mobile network, the download and installation should take less than three minutes.

Set up an account: Create an account using your bank verification number and date of birth. Here, you’d also need to set up your password, which should be kept as privately as possible. Once this is done, the app, would already have some of your details, showing that it is somewhat connected to the banking system.

Validate your account: After setting up your account, you will be asked to enter your security code. That code is in an email you already received. It is a one-time password (OTP), which you will type into the app to validate your account.

Login and begin: Once your account is all set up, you’d get a congratulatory message on your screen. The message would also have a blue button, asking you to login to the app. Enter your email and recently created password to get into the dashboard. Once you’re in, click on MTN Nigeria offer.

Terms and Purchase: Once you click on MTN Nigeria offer, you’d see the terms and condition page, read and accept by ticking the unchecked column near the purchase button. Once you do that, click on purchase.

Choose a number of shares: Your latest screen should now be showing “Enter your transaction details”. In the column for specified units, enter the number of units you want to buy. The minimum number of shares you can buy is 20.

According to MTN, “the minimum application is 20 shares and multiples of 20 shares thereafter, so 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120…etc.  There is no maximum, however, the amount of shares allotted will be within the offer size of up to 575,000,000 ordinary shares.”

One share cost N169. So for the minimum number of shares, you would need N3,380.

Pay now: After choosing the number of shares, and checking the terms and condition box, you click on “pay now”. The app asks if you have a CSCS account. A Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) account is a financial infrastructure for clearing, storing, and settlement of securities transactions. It is where all your shares are domiciled.

If you have a CSCS account, click on yes, if not, click on no. The option you choose will determine the next line of action. For both answers, the process is simple. The app helps set up your CSCS account and allows you to process payment for the shares.

If you already have a CSCS account, enter the account number and your clearinghouse number (CHN). After this, you update your bank details, where your dividends will likely be paid then you click on “pay now”.

Pay with card or USSD or transfer: When you get to this page, you have many payment options, choose which one works for you — bank transfer or card payment or just USSD — and pay for the shares. Please note that bank charges will be added, bringing your N3,380 to N3,418.

Share allotment: Once payment is made, you would get a mail, stating the details of your payment and confirming receipt of the payments. Following approval by SEC, your shares would be allotted in less than 15 days. Going with these steps, you easily become an MTN shareholder.