MTN Group released a press statement on Tuesday confirming that it had not agreed to pay any fine to the Nigerian Communications Commission and was still negotiating with the government. Whilst negotiations continue, the South African Parliament is worried about the implications of the alleged violation of trade relations with not just Nigeria but with other countries.
According to an article in Reuters, South Africa’s head of parliamentary telecoms portfolio, Mmamoloko Kubayi confirmed this worry by saying;
“It is important for South Africa to increase trade relations with other African countries but if something like this happens we get worried about our reputation and the impact that would have on South African companies wishing to expand on the continent,”
MTN has a lot of investments in Nigeria ranging such as Shoprite, Stanbic, SAB Miller (owners International Breweries) etc. and continues to leverage on their technical expertise and capital to sell services and products to the largest economy in Africa by GDP and by population.
MTN share price was down 4.98% today and has been down by about 20% since the fines were announced by the NCC.