The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has suspended trading in MTN group’s shares, after the company’s share price dropped significant since the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC fined it last week.
According to Bloomberg, MTN has lost $5.24b (N1.4tr) in market capitalization from October 23 to 29, as the fine continued to take toll on its value on Monday November 2. According to early morning trading on the South African bourse, MTN shares fell as low as 9.7 percent on Monday, then rising to 5 percent, before being suspended a few minutes to 11am.
MTN group has been in talks with Nigerian authorities to review the fine, which is as more than MTN’s $3.9 billion revenue for the year 2014. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission has re-affirmed its unyielding position to waiver or reduces the fine of $5.2 billion imposed on MTN. A senior NCC official who spoke with Daily Trust on the fine issue yesterday said the commission was under intense pressure from the MTN but “we will not waive the fine”.
He said: “I can confirm to you that yes the MTN big guns are in the country. They are in touch with us though we are yet to meet officially. We have told you we are not directly in charge of this case again. Coming to us may not bring out anything meaningful for them. Yes, they are putting pressure on us, but we are not going to yield to it…We are not ruling out any diplomatic settlement we believe the Presidency has the final say.”
