MTN says its shares have resumed trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), having been halted earlier on Monday amid reports that Africa’s largest mobile operator had agreed to pay a $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Shares in MTN fell by 5.27% to R149.48 on Monday before trade was halted. The company has wiped off more than R110 from its share price since August last year, when it reached a high of R262.50.<\/p>\n
“After the company\u2019s announcement released on SENS at 13h33, trading in the company\u2019s shares will resume with a ten minute re-opening auction at 13h40,” MTN said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The mobile operator has for some time been a heavy hitter on the JSE, ranking among the top 10 most valuable, with a market cap exceeding R450 billion by the end of 2014. That figure however, has dwindled to R290 billion.<\/p>\n
The report by Nigeria\u2019s Vanguard website, cited unnamed sources saying that MTN had agreed to pay the fine, pleading for a staggered payment model.<\/p>\n
According to a report by Bloomberg<\/a>, MTN has not agreed to the fine, and is continuing to engage with Nigerian authorities to challenge it.<\/p>\n The Nigerian Communications Commission hit MTN with a 1.04 trillion naira ($5.2 billion) fine on the 26th of October, for failing to disconnect over 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards on its network.<\/p>\n In An earlier announcement on the JSE’s newswires platform, MTN requested that shareholders continue to exercise caution when dealing in its securities.<\/p>\n “The company reiterates that engagements with the Nigerian authorities are continuing\u00a0\u00a0 and any material developments in these enagagements will be communicated to shareholders through SENS.<\/p>\n “Shareholders should specifically exercise caution when reacting to information on this matter which has not been released by the company,” it said.<\/p>\n The JSE on Friday started an investigation into the timing of MTN Group\u2019s announcement on Monday that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had fined them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe investigation will follow due process to establish whether there have been any breaches of the listings requirements and can be a lengthy process,\u201d said Andre Visser, head of Issuer Regulation at the JSE, in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n JSE halts trading of MTN shares<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n JSE to investigate MTN for possible insider trading<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n MTN loses R63 billion in value in less than a week<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on MTN<\/h3>\n