One of the leading smartphone makers in Nigeria, Transsion Holdings, is planning to list its shares on China’s Stock Market. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) is expected to raise up to $426 million (3 billion Yuan).
Transsion Holdings will have its shares listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market in China, a special market set up for tech companies in July 2019. While the IPO date hasn’t been made public, the company first made its listing interest known in April by filing its first docs with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
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The Chinese company established its subsidiary in Nigeria over 10 years ago. Transsion is also in seven other countries in Africa. Its success in Nigeria has been largely attributed to its positioning in the market as an affordable smartphone for the lower class of society. The strategy has since been replicated by the likes of Samsung to compete for the lower-end of the mobile market.
In a recent report, the spokesperson for Transsion’s Office of the Secretary to the Chairman confirmed the plan, stating that, “The company’s listing-related work is running smoothly. The registration application and issuance process are still underway, with the specific timetable yet to be confirmed by the CSRC and Shanghai Stock Exchange.”
Transsion is the manufacturer of popular smartphone brands like Tecno, Itel, and Infinix all of which are household brands in Nigeria, where Transsion has one of its Research & Development Centres. Although Transsion is headquartered at China, its focus on Nigeria and Africa at large is strong when compared to its market rivals, as it holds 54% of the feature phone market on the continent.
About 124 million phones were sold by Transsion globally in 2018, according to the report, generating $3.29 billion in revenue. In smartphone sales, the company is second to Samsung and ahead of Huawei (another Chinese firm) according to International Data Corporation stats.
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Why Transsion is going public: The tech company plans to do the following with capital raised.
- About $227 million will be used to build more phone assembly hubs.
- Transsion has budgeted $62 million on research and development, including a mobile phone Research & Development Centre in Shanghai.
- The company has a commitment to meet in India.
- It also wants to build an industrial park in India to manufacture phones.
Note: Smartphone adoption on the continent is estimated to grow to 67% by 2025, according to GSMA, but it’s currently low at 34%.
