ZEN Petroleum founder and Managing Director William Tewiah says the company’s initial public offering exceeded its capital target, raising close to one billion dollars from institutional investors before its shares began trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) on Wednesday.
The indigenous downstream petroleum firm listed 640 million ordinary shares on the exchange following a book-building exercise that raised GH¢640 million, with 128 million shares offered at GH¢5.00 each, representing 20 percent of the company’s enlarged share capital.
Speaking on The Point of View on Channel One TV on the day of the listing, Tewiah said the decision to go public came after careful internal debate. “There were a lot of internal discussions as to the pros and cons of us listing,” he said. “We have always set out to run a trans-generational business, to be around for a long time, long after I have gone. So, listing on the GSE and opening up shares for others to participate makes you a true Ghanaian company. It reinforces the discipline we have always had, discipline in compliance and corporate governance.”
He said the oversubscription reflected deep investor confidence. “We ended up raising more, close to a billion, more than we needed,” he said.
The company has retained 20 percent of its equity for now, with Tewiah disclosing that an employee share ownership scheme is being prepared as the next step. He also confirmed intentions to reduce his personal holding progressively. “The intention is to float more shares. Ultimately, to bring my personal holding to 50 percent. There’s a lot of interest, and people do appreciate companies that try to do the right thing,” he said.
ZEN Petroleum’s board includes three independent non-executive directors: Frank Brako Adu, former Managing Director of CalBank; Freda Yahan Duplan, former Chief Executive of Nestlé in Asia, Africa and Oceania; and Mansa Nettey, former Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana.
Revenue is projected to reach GH¢8.41 billion in 2026 and GH¢10.98 billion by 2030, with profit after tax forecast to grow from GH¢375 million this year to GH¢469 million by 2030.
Tewiah also stressed that ZEN Petroleum has maintained uniform fuel pricing across its nationwide network as a matter of principle. “We have always maintained that our prices need to be uniform across our networks, not just in certain parts of the country,” he said.
The listing broadens the pool of companies on the GSE and adds a domestically relevant player in the energy sector at a time when investor interest on the exchange remains largely concentrated in financial and telecom stocks.
