Nigeria’s largest telecom carrier, MTN Nigeria said it is poised to go ahead with its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, within the first quarter of this year.
It would be recalled that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, JSE-listed MTN Group Limited company said its Nigerian unit will be listing on the bourse of African largest economy as part of the agreement it had with the Nigerian government/telecom regulator (the National Communications Commission, NCC) to reduce its regulatory fine to N330 billion in 2016.
However, the company could not go ahead with the IPO after it was pummeled with several regulatory fines and illegal transfer allegations that impacted its revenue and relationship with the Nigerian government. A few months ago, there were official confirmations that MTN had settled the illegal capital repatriation charges after reaching an out of court settlements with the Nigerian government.
MTN said in its latest disclosure that:
“MTN Nigeria expects to list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the first half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals.”
The company added that “This will be achieved via a listing by introduction and will be followed by a public offer once market conditions are conducive. Over time, and subject to market conditions, we anticipate that the participation of Nigerians in the ownership of the business will increase from around 20% to 35%.”
Moreover, the IPO will be keenly watched in a market where MTN is already showing signs of reaching a diminishing return in growing its customer base. Globacom Nigeria Limited, Bharti Airtel and 9mobile (formerly Etisalat Nigeria) are its main competitors in the market. Although none of them have signalled a possible IPO, the possible entrance of MTN Nigerian on the stock market might bring about more listings within the category.
