These 3 African countries want their citizens to own part of MTN

Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda have requested Africas largest telecommunications network, MTN, to list its unit of the Stock Exchange.

The group is facing pressure from African countries to list its unit so that citizens can own shares in the company.

In Uganda

The East African nation wants “Ugandans to be part of the company”. The pressure is coming at a time Africa’s largest mobile-phone company seeks to renew a licence in the country. MTN’s licence expires in October 2018 in the country.

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In Ghana

MTN Ghana is set to localise through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

The telecommunication carrier is also offering a 35 per cent stake of its Ghanaian unit to local investors in return for access to local spectrum, in what will be that country’s biggest-ever initial public offering.

In Nigeria

The Johannesburg-based company agreed to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as part of a deal with regulators on the $1 billion fine.

MTN Nigeria incurred a record $5.2 billion fine in October 2015 over their failure to deactivate 5 million unregistered SIM cards.

After a series of diplomatic negotiations, the government reduced the fine to $1 billion (N330 billion), payable over the three years on the terms that MTN enlists on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The first payment of N33 billion was made on March 31, 2017, and paid more than 50% of the fine so far.

In its half-year financial statement released weeks ago, the telecoms said it is going ahead with the listing as agreed with the Nigerian government.

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