MTN Nigeria fined N1.4 Trillion by NCC

Telecom giant MTN Nigeria has been fine N1.4 trillion by NCC for failure to register subscribers

The NCC had slammed MTN Nigeria with the N1.4 trillion fine for failing to register the personal details of 5.1 million subscribers.

However, a statement by MTN said its CEO is still in talks with the Nigerian authorities and that its senior management and advisers are also talking to JSE, after the announcement of the fine knocked around 20 percent off the company’s stock price.

A report quoted the spokesman for the NCC as saying that the outcome of the discussion may affect the deadline date.

The report also said Nigeria’s presidency and internal security agency are involved in the talks.

“That’s why they are having the discussion so that they can reach a solution,” the spokesperson said.

Even as the South African Stock Exchange (JSE) has launched a probe into the N1.4 trillion fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on MTN Nigeria, the telecommunications regulator has given the telecoms company until November 16, 2015 to pay the fine or risk further sanctions.

Head of the JSE, Andre Visser, stated, that “the investigation will follow due process to establish whether there have been any breaches of the listings requirements and can be a lengthy process.”

Under South African capital markets rules, companies are required to immediately warn shareholders of price-sensitive information.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings has revised MTN Group’s outlook to negative, owing “to the risk of a significant cash outflow due to a substantial fine imposed on MTN’s Nigerian operations, which could increase leverage and pressure MTN’s credit metrics.”

It would be recalled that NCC has requested all telecoms operators to register all active subscribers under their operation.

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