+Talks over outsized fine continue
+Shareholders begin to feel the heat
MTN Group Ltd., the African mobile-network operator that faces a record $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria, says the Communications Commission approved the renewal and extension of its license for another five years.
“MTN’s operating spectrum, which was issued along with the digital-mobile license in 2001 with an original expiry date of February 2016, has now been extended to Aug. 31, 2021,” the parent company said this morning from its base in Johannesburg where it is listed on the local bourse.
MTN has to pay $94.2 million by Dec. 31 to secure the license for the 900MHz and 1800MHz frequency bands and the extension, it said.
While the regulator has approved the license, MTN remains in negotiations over its outsized fine which was received with unbelief among Nigeria’s investor community according to a report by BusinessDay.
MTN was charged for failing to comply with an order to disconnect customers with unregistered phone cards and since the penalty was disclosed, the operator’s share price has plummeted 22 percent, with trade being temporarily suspended yesterday to give the company time to communicate with the market and try stem the decline. MTN has until Nov. 16 to pay the penalty.
Apart from its digital-mobile license, MTN also has a unified access permit and a 3G spectrum license in Nigeria, it said, without providing details on when those are due to expire.
MTN rose 0.9 percent to 149.55 rand as of 9:23 a.m. in Johannesburg trading.
Meantime, South Africa’s Public Investment Corp. which owns 16.5 per cent of MTN shares says it’s concerned that MTN Group Ltd. didn’t anticipate or take steps to prevent being fined $5.2 billion in Nigeria for failing to deregister mobile phone subscribers.
