In South AfricaSouth African lawmakers say MTN fine row risks Nigeria trade ties
It also came after the kidnapping on Sept. 21 of Olu Falae, former
Nigerian finance minister, by kidnappers who the regulator said had used
MTN phone lines to negotiate a ransom.
South African lawmakers are concerned MTN Group's alleged violation of Nigerian
laws could hurt trade relations between the continent's two biggest
economies, the head of a telecoms parliamentary committee said on
Wednesday.
Africa's biggest mobile phone company was last week fined $5.2 billion by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for failure to cut off users with unregistered SIM cards from its network. Nigeria is MTN's biggest market.
The Johannesburg-based
company is in talks with authorities in Nigeria, which surpassed South
Africa as the continent's biggest economy in 2014, to make what three
sources familiar with matter say is an attempt to have the fine reduced.
"It
is important for South Africa to increase trade relations with other
African countries but if something like this happens we get worried
about our reputation and the impact that would have on South African
companies wishing to expand on the continent," head of the parliamentary telecoms portfolio, Mmamoloko Kubayi told Reuters.
Firms in Africa's most industrialised economy such as grocer Shoprite and Standard Bank
are among the biggest investors in Nigeria. The country accounted for
nearly 80 percent of South Africa's total trade in Africa in 2012. South
Africa's oil imports account for the bulk of trade.
Talks
between MTN and the Nigerian authorities continued on Wednesday, the
company said in a statement, and again dismissed speculation that it had
reached an agreement on the fine.
Nigeria has
been pushing all telecom operators to verify the identity of their
subscribers, on concerns that unregistered SIM cards were being used for
criminal activity in a country facing an insurgency by Islamic militant
group Boko Haram.
The NCC said
in October all telecom firms except MTN had complied with the directive
which was first issued in August, when it warned of a fine of 200,000
naira ($1,005) per SIM card. MTN failed to disconnect 5.1 million
subscribers in August and September, the NCC said.
The fine came months after Muhammadu Buhari swept
to power in Africa's biggest oil producer after a campaign in which he
promised tougher regulation and a fight against corruption.
It also came after the kidnapping on Sept. 21 of Olu Falae, former Nigerian finance minister, by kidnappers who the regulator said had used MTN phone lines to negotiate a ransom.
Some
analysts have said the size of the fine risked damaging Nigeria's
efforts to shake off its image as a risky frontier market for
international investors, though others said it showed Nigerian
regulators were keen to enforce the law.
Shares in
MTN, down about 20 percent since the fine was announced last week,
traded 4.7 percent higher at 162.86 rand as of 1404 GMT.
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