Botomani was speaking in Lilongwe on Monday evening during the Airtel Malawi pre-listing stakeholders cocktail.

“Today, we stand here together, to celebrate that, in just a few weeks, at least 20 percent of the shares in Airtel will be held by the people of Malawi as shareholders.

“I hope that, having heard what the team has to say and read what is in the prospectus, many of you, if not all of you, will participate in this opportunity. Through this listing, Malawians will be able to benefit from the growth of the telecommunications sector through not only TNM but now Airtel,” said Botomani.

He said the telecommunications industry in the country has been a pillar of the development of Malawi and a significant contributor to the country’s GDP.

“Malawi’s telecommunications sector contributes 4 percent to our national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with the bulk of this coming from the mobile sector. What this means is that Airtel is one of the key drivers of our economic growth and I believe, given the prospects of the industry, this will continue to grow,” he said.

Airtel Malawi is making available 20percent share holding to Malawians, through the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE).