Business MTN Stocks Falter After NCC's $5.2bn Blow

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Stocks of South African-based MTN fell 14 percent on Monday at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange following reports of a $5.2bn fine imposed on its Nigerian subsidiary for failing to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered cellphone subscribers.

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The Nigerian Communications Commission said the penalty was based on 200,000 naira ($1,000) for each cellphone SIM card that had not been registered by its August deadline.

NCC said all other telecom firms operating in the country complied with the directive except MTN.

The regulator said MTN, whose biggest market is Nigeria, has not denied the infraction and that its enforcement team deactivated 5.2 million unregistered lines to ensure compliance.

The $5.2 billion is at least two average years’ profit for MTN Nigeria, by far the MTN Group’s most lucrative subsidiary, and nearly three times the $1.8 billion that it has invested in Nigeria, according to the company’s website.

MTN said it would release a statement about the issue later on Monday.
 
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