The management of MTN Group is hopeful that its Nigerian subsidiary will finally be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) before the end of 2018. This comes on the heels of earlier speculations that the telecommunication giant will raise over ₦100 billion through its Initial Public Offering which was expected this June.
According to Bloomberg, the latest disclosure was made today in Lagos by MTN’s Group President/CEO [Rob Shuter] who spoke briefly on the subject during an interview.
WE ARE PROGRESSING VERY WELL WITH THE NIGERIAN LISTING AND IF MARKET CONDITIONS ARE APPROPRIATE, WE WILL CONCLUDE THAT BY THE END OF THE YEAR.-ROB SHUTER
The Initial Public Offering (IPO) was one of the conditions MTN agreed to settle the $1 billion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2015. The company has paid ₦165 billion so far, amounting to half of the fine.
It should be noted that Nigeria is MTN’s largest market in Africa.
It is now expected that the company will raise about $500 million (some ₦180 billion) when it is finally listed on the Stock Exchange sometimes between November and December this year. According to people close to the situation, MTN intends to sell off nearly 30% percent of its stakes in MTN Nigeria Limited.
Elsewhere, the telco is also finalising plans to make a public offering in neighbouring Ghana where it currently dominates the market. As Mr Shuter noted, “the Ghana IPO is well advanced. We will make the specific announcement of that in accordance with the IPO schedule.”
The company has bounced back to profitability as its profit hit 3.3 billion rand ($278.2 million) for the 12 months ended December 2017. MTN made a 1.4 billion rand loss in 2016 due to a $1 billion fine imposed on its Nigerian arm.
(Nairametrics)
