MTN listing threatened by Nigerian 'witch-hunt'
Mobile operator seen as political fodder ahead of elections
The future of MTN's proposed listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange remains uncertain, as tension between the company and regulatory authorities escalated this week. The listing formed part of the settlement of a fine by the Nigerian authorities two years ago that had threatened the future of Africa's biggest mobile operator. MTN faced one of the world's largest corporate fines after failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers, but managed to reduce it from more than $5bn to $1.7bn, promising to list its Nigerian business on the bourse. However, growing tension between the authorities and the company - one of the biggest in Nigeria - has put the listing in jeopardy. Alan Pullinger, Group CEO of FirstRand, told Business Times the listing was "probably going to be delayed, maybe for a long time". "We were very hopeful that we were going to be listing a great business, but you can see now obviously it's a lot more difficult and complicated, so I'm not sure how it's going to unfold,"...
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