The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has extended its trading suspension of Umeme Limited shares by an additional 30 days.
The trading suspension of the energy company will now remain in force until Thursday, 12 June 2025.
“The initial suspension, which lapsed on 12 May 2025, has been extended for a further thirty (30) calendar days to facilitate the completion of ongoing engagements, regulatory compliance, and shareholder communication,” the NSE said in a statement.
The move aims to allow completion of regulatory approvals, shareholder communication, and pending compliance tied to Uganda’s buyout of the utility firm.
The suspension of trading is due to the fact that Umeme has delayed the publication of its FY2024 results as talks with the Ugandan government over its buyout terms.
Backstory
Ugandan private power utility Umeme Limited signed a 20-year concession agreement in 2005.
But as it was nearing its end in 2022, the government rejected Umeme’s request to renew the deal amid complaints it had been slow to expand new power connections and lower prices for consumers.
Under the terms of Umeme’s agreement with the Ugandan government, the government is required to compensate the company for any capital investments in the power distribution network that it had not recovered by the end of the concession period.
In March 31, Umeme said it had received $118 million in compensation from the government for unrecovered investments, following the expiration of its monopoly rights to distribute electricity in the country.
Umeme however said in a statement that the $118 million payment represented what government auditors determined the company was owed. In breaking with the government’s view, Umeme is claiming $234 million in total unrecovered investments.
It said its board remained “optimistic that the matters in dispute will be resolved during the ensuing 30-day good faith negotiations period or in any event subsequently by an arbitral tribunal in London.”
However, the negotiations have dragged on, resulting in the company’s failure to publish its accounts for the 2024 fiscal year on the Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE).
Uganda has since transferred Umeme’s operations and electricity distribution license to state-owned Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL).
