S’Africa minister speaks on MTN’s Nigeria fine

Mobile network MTN [JSE:MTN] hasn’t yet asked South Africa’s department of telecommunications and postal services for help in regards to its multi-billion dollar fine in Nigeria.

This was according to Minister Siyabonga Cwele in an interview with Fin24.
MTN announced on October 26 that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had fined it $5.2bn for failing to disconnect up to five million unregistered SIM cards in that country in a timely manner. MTN is Nigeria’s biggest mobile network with over 60 million subscribers.

However, in a market update to shareholders on Thursday, MTN said that the NCC had agreed to cut the fine to $3.4bn and that this penalty needed to be paid by December 31 2015. But in a twist on Friday, MTN said the NCC had issued the company a second letter in which the regulator said the fine had actually been reduced to $3.9bn and not $3.4bn

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