The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MTN

  • MTN yet to file application for IPO, says SEC

    NIGERIA’S apex capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), yesterday confirmed that MTN Nigeria has not filed any application for consideration of the telco’s much-touted initial public offering (IPO), contrary to a media report.

    SEC stated that neither MTN Nigeria Limited nor any of its advisers or representatives has filed any application on the IPO with the commission.

    It is mandatory for any company seeking to float an offer to submit such offer to the review of SEC and obtain the final approval of the commission before rounding off other pre-offer processes.

    In a circular, SEC noted that a report in a newspaper (not The Nation) and other media outlets insinuating that the MTN IPO was set to go was “false, misleading and without merit”.

    According to the commission, MTN Nigeria Limited to the best of the commission’s knowledge is a private company limited by shares and as at now, neither MTN Nigeria Limited nor any of its advisers or representatives has filed any application with the SEC on the IPO.

    “Given that there is no application from MTN before the commission, there could not have been a request by MTN or any of its representatives or advisers requiring any form of regulatory review,” SEC stated.

    The commission noted that it welcomes filings aimed at deepening and broadening the capital market and stands ready to provide the necessary regulatory support.

    It added that if MTN finally files a formal and complete application, it would be treated with the usual diligence and urgency that is applicable to such filings.

    “Furthermore, we wish to remind all capital market operators of their duty not to furnish information, which is false, and misleading in any material particular as the commission would not hesitate to take necessary regulatory actions on any erring market operator,” SEC stated.

    SEC reiterated its commitment to its core mandate of investor protection and maintaining the integrity of the Nigerian capital market.

    MTN Nigeria had in 2016 appointed the advisory team and set out a roadmap towards listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2017.

    The board of MTN Nigeria had announced the appointment of Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and its affiliates, Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Advisory London Limited and Citigroup Global Markets Limited as the joint transaction advisors and joint global coordinators for the proposed listing of MTN Nigeria on the NSE. The telco, however, missed the 2017 target.

    MTN Nigeria has not confirmed the size of its IPO, but many sources have said the telco plans to raise between $400 million and $500 million through the IPO scheduled for the second half of this year.

    It should be recalled that as part of the conditions to settle its $3.4 billion fine by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), MTN Nigeria had announced its intention to list its shares on the NSE as soon as commercially and legally possible.

     

     

  • MTN Foundation conducts ICT, Business Training in Oyo

    MTN Foundation has held Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Business Skills Training for youths  and for journalists.

    The two-day training which was the pilot phase of the initiative, held on Thursday and Friday, June 28th and 29th, 2018 at the Olola Ogunlana Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    Cross section of participants at the on the 1st day of the MTN Foundation’s ICT and Business Skills Training at MTN Foundation’s ICT and Business Skills Training For Youths In Oyo State, at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, recently.

    The training sessions were handled by expert facilitators from  KPMG, Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), IBM and Oracle.

    The Honourable Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, Mrs. Mosun Belo-Olusoga, Director, MTN Foundation, an alumnus of the University of Ibadan,The Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Niyi Ajao (representing the Executive Governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Senator Abiola Ajimobi were some of the dignitaries that witnessed the training.

  • Nigeria: Visafone 800MHz to MTN Okay for Telecoms Growth

    MTN Nigeria has said the 30% National Broadband Plan (NBP 2013-2018) by the Federal Government can be actualized by fourth quarter of the year with the release of Visafone’s 800 Megahertz spectrum for usage in the telecommunication sector.

    The multinational mobile telecommunications company explained that its network coverage and Quality of Service (QoS) bound to improve for the benefit of subscribers in the sector with Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC)’s approval of the spectrum transfer to MTN Nigeria.

    According to Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, MTN Nigeria, Johnson Oyewo who lauded NCC for sustaining competitive regulatory business environment in the sector over the year however urged the industry regulator to take due diligence and transfer the Visafone spectrum appropriately in due course.

    “In order for the network expansion(MTN), and attendant service quality improvement to continue, it NCC should take a fair decision, in allowing the transfer of the Visafone 800MHz to MTN in the interest of the consumer and the Nigerian economy.

    “Nigeria’s broadband penetration is presently at 21/22%. We are committed to the national broadband penetration which was why we bought the 2.6 GHz spectrum band and MTN was the only bidder then. We are working hard to expand our networks across Nigeria and the 800MHz gives an advantage of wider coverage using fewer resources. The ultimate beneficiaries are the Nigerian government, and every Nigerian who will benefit from the pervasive roll-out of broadband services and success of the rural telephony project.

    ”MTN has shown time and again, that we are committed to the Nigerian market. MTN has consistently invested in communications infrastructure, particularly broadband infrastructure in Nigeria. The facts are there for everyone to verify, no other operator has displayed this level of commitment to development of the Nigerian telecoms space including operators whose parent companies rank higher globally in terms of subscriber numbers.

    “MTN’s continuous infrastructural roll-out underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to Nigeria in the long term, and as such other operators too should demonstrate the same commitment as the attendant impact of all operators’ collective investment on GDP given the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s findings will lead to a 10% leap in broadband penetration thereby resulting in 1% yield on GDP as well as lower retail prices which is beneficial to all consumers,” he said.

    Following the acquisition of 100 per cent equity of Visafone by MTN in 2015, Visafone had applied to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) for the transfer of its frequency and licence to MTN.

    Competitors had argued on why the Nigerian Communications Commission should or should not transfer Visafone’s licence and spectrum to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will decide before mid-July on whether to allow MTN Nigeria to continue using the 800MHz spectrum it acquired along with Visafone licence or disallow it.

  • MTN: fear of Airtel, 9mobile over Visfone spectrum baseless

    MTN Nigeria yesterday said the fear of two of its competitors, Airtel and 9mobile, that its acquisition of Visafone and its 800megahertz (MHz) spectrum, would substantially lessen competition in the data market segment and ultimately create a monopoly in the industry, was baseless.

    It said the competitors’ arguments were academic and based on panic fear.

    It insisted that rather than creating a monopoly, the development would allow the Federal Government to realise its broadband target of 30 per cent this year and ultimately grow the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    Its Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Johnson Oyewo, who represented the telco at the public hearing convened by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja, said the regulator has introduced a number of regulatory initiatives such as Spectrum Refarming, Passive Infrastructure Sharing and Spectrum Trading amongst others which provide a level playing field for all players and unlocks access to essential facilities and will go a long way in deepening industry growth and dynamism.

    “These initiatives which promote market efficiencies should be leveraged by all market players to their advantage. The newly introduced Spectrum Trading Guidelines further strengthens healthy competition as every market player can freely engage in spectrum trading which is readily available in the secondary market with some market players who are underutilising same,” he said.

    He said the NCC in its Competition Determination found the mobile data market segment where the 800MHz spectrum will be deployed to be effectively competitive. He argued that competitors have failed to substantiate allegations of conducts deemed to result in substantial lessening of competition as specified by the NCC in its Competition Practices Regulations 2007.

    He also said the ‘democratisation of spectrum access’ as well as the immediate transfer of the 800MHz Visafone spectrum to MTN, is one of the things that could fast track Nigeria’s target of achieving 30 per cent broadband penetration by the end of 2018.

    “Nigeria’s broadband penetration is presently at 21/22 per cent. We are committed to the national broadband penetration which was why we bought the 2.6 GHz spectrum band and MTN was the only bidder then. We are working hard to expand our networks across Nigeria and the 800MHz gives an advantage of wider coverage using fewer resources. The ultimate beneficiaries are the Nigerian government, and every Nigerian who will benefit from the pervasive roll-out of broadband services and success of the rural telephony project,” he said.

    According to Oyewo, MTN’s continuous infrastructural roll-out underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to Nigeria in the long term, and as such other operators too should demonstrate the same commitment arguing that the attendant impact of all operators’ collective investment on GDP given the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s findings will lead to a 10 per cent leap in broadband penetration thereby resulting in one per cent yield on GDP as well as lower retail prices which is beneficial to all consumers.

    ‘’We have shown time and again that we are committed to the Nigerian market. MTN has consistently invested in communications infrastructure, particularly broadband infrastructure in Nigeria. The facts are there for everyone to verify, no other operator has displayed this level of commitment to development of the Nigerian telecoms space including operators whose parent companies rank higher globally in terms of subscriber numbers,” he said.

    As the timeline for achieving the broadband target of 30 per cent draws nearer, stakeholders must demonstrate commitment to supporting the Federal Government. In this regard, MTN, acquisition of Visafone is a step in the right direction at actualising the target. In order for the network expansion, and attendant service quality improvement to continue, it argues, the NCC should take a fair decision, in allowing the transfer of the Visafone 800MHz to MTN in the interest of the consumer and the Nigerian economy.

  • MTN Nigeria supports 2100 tech start-ups for stardom

    MTN Foundation, has supported over 2100 tech startups from undergraduate students of accredited Nigerian universities and polytechnics in their quest to proffer solutions in various sub sectors and industries in the nation’s  economy ranging from agriculture, power to waste management.

    This was evident at Student Innovation Challenge boot camp in Lagos which exposed about 40 students to mentorship and series of assessment classes to help them start and grow their enterprise successfully.

    On the demo day of the week long boot camp the 40 students were shortlisted to pitched their ideas to various panel of judges’ present. The 40 candidates were further shortlisted to six candidates, who were selected through a ballot system.

    The six candidates then pitched their ideas to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was present at the occasion.

    The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, lauded the various ideas that the students presented during the programme, he also commissioned the groundbreaking of the Civic Innovation lab which is situated at the Creative arts faculty of Unilag.

    Speaking at the Lagos regional, the Executive secretary of the MTN foundation, Ms. Nonny Ugboma congratulated the winner of the Student Innovation Challenge, David Oluwatobiloba Adeyemi whose eco-E product, made from the special recycling of fruits and Kitchen wastes, was selected as the overall best by the panel of judges.

    She said, “The Student Innovation Challenge – which has brought us here today – is not just a fantastic initiative, but is a timely reminder to us all that challenges are ours to own, understand and sort out. That our people are ours to care for, nurture and empower. That our future is ours to take, mould and rebirth!”

    The Student Innovation Challenge platform which is about collaboration, innovation and creativity amongst Students from across Universities and Polytechnics in Nigeria, is just one of the many ways the MTN Foundation is supporting Nigerian Youth.

    MTN Foundation’s educational initiatives have seen it provide digital libraries and ICT laboratories to universities and secondary schools, across the country while empowering others with scholarships in music, science and technology.

    The MTN Foundation healthcare portfolio, has provided mammography and dialysis machines to public hospitals across the country as well as its trailblazing eyesight restoration intervention where a lot of persons have benefited from free surgeries, and treatments.

    Under its economic empowerment portfolio, MTN Foundation has carried out and supported a wide range of activities designed to enable job provision, skills acquisition among other various stakeholder groups such as the disabled, widows and visually impaired students.

    In recognition of its positive contributions, MTN Foundation has received numerous awards, including the CSR Nigeria Industry Award: Innovative Partnership Award for Outstanding Work in Corporate Social Responsibility and Creating “Shared Value”; Advertising Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) Awards: Best Corporate Social Responsibility Company and Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria: Special Appreciation Award in recognition of MTNF work and Support for Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria among many others.

  • NCC stops MTN from acquiring Visafone

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday halted moves by South African mobile giant MTN to acquire the only surviving Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, Visafone.

    It said the acquisition cannot be done without a public inquiry to enable stakeholders determine the future of Visafone in the overall interest of the industry.

    The regulator’s stance followed a heated debate on the matter by representatives of major telecoms firms in the country who made presentations during the stakeholders meeting at the NCC headquarters in Abuja.

    Present at the meeting were MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria Limited, Glo Mobile Nigeria, 9mobile Nigeria Limited and other operators.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Umar Garba  Danbatta, said the NCC as a regulatory body for the industry considered it imperative to hold the public inquiry to give room for active participation and deliberations  that would facilitate informed decision on the issue.

    He drew the attention of stakeholders to the enabling law which empowers NCC to take decision on the transfer of licence and resources, including the 800MHz Spectrum from Visafone Communications Limited to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.

    Prof. Danbatta said: “The Commission seeks your active participation in the deliberations that would lead to an informed decision consistent with our mandate to create an enabling environment for effective competition in the industry as well as to ensure the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.

    “As you may all be aware, the demand for spectrum has increased due to the emergence of disruptive innovations such as mobile broadband, web applications, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IOT) and the proliferation of smart devices among others.

    “Consequently, in order to reap the benefits of effective utilisation of spectrum as well as improve operational efficiency and regulatory excellence, the Commission in accordance with its mandate as enshrined in the Nigerian Communications Act NCA 2003 embarked on re-planning of some of its Frequency bands

    “Specifically in 2013 the commission re-planned the use of 800Mhz band to accommodate technology development in the telecom industry and new Frequency Assignments were conveyed to the operators according to their frequency holdings in the 800MHz band.

    “Visafone is one of such incumbents on the spectrum that got 10MHz FDD Assignments. Subsequent to the re-planning of the band, Visafone wrote to the Commission requesting for transfer of its licence including the 800MHz spectrum to MTN.”

    However, during their presentations, the representatives of Airtel and 9mobile opposed the plan to transfer the licence of Visafone to MTN , insisting that MTN already had over 38 per cent of spectrum holding in the industry.

    They argued that should the NCC concede to the transfer, the development would not only create a monopoly for MTN, but make competition difficult among industrial players while a lot of telecommunications companies would be permanently disadvantaged.

  • NCC halts Visafone acquisition by MTN

    The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on Monday waded into the acquisition of Visafone by South African mobile giant MTN, saying the acquisition cannot be done without a public inquiry to enable stakeholders determine the future of Visafone in the overall interest of the industry.

    The decision of the NCC to halt the acquisition followed a heated debate on the matter by representatives of major telecommunications companies in the country who made presentations during the stakeholders meeting at the NCC headquarters in Abuja.

    The major industrial players present at the meeting were MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria Limited, Glo Mobile Nigeria, 9Mobile Nigeria Limited and other telecommunication outfits.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, said the NCC as a regulatory body for the industry considered it imperative to hold the public inquiry to give room for active participation and deliberations that would facilitate informed decision on the issue.

    He drew the attention of stakeholders to the enabling law which empowers NCC to take decision on the transfer of license and resources, including the 800MHz Spectrum from Visafone Communications Limited to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited. Prof. Danbatta said : “ The Commission seeks your active participation in the deliberations that would lead to an informed decision consistent with our mandate to create an enabling environment for effective competition in the industry as well as to ensure the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.

    “As you may all be aware, the demand for Spectrum has increased due to emergence of disruptive innovations such as Mobile Broadband, Web Applications, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IOT) and the proliferation of smart devices among others. “Consequently, in order to reap the benefits of effective utilization of Spectrum as well as improve operational efficiency and regulatory excellence, the commission in accordance with its mandate as enshrined in the Nigerian Communications Acts NCA 2003 embarked on re-planning of some of its Frequency bands “Specifically in 2013 the commission re-planned the use of 800MTz band to accommodate technology development in the telecom industry and new Frequency Assignments were conveyed to the Operators according to their frequency holdings in the 800MHz band.

    “Visafone is one of such incumbents on the Spectrum that got 10MHz FDD Assignments. Subsequent to the re-planning of the band Visafone wrote to the Commission requesting for transfer of its license including the 800MHz Spectrum to MTN” However, during their presentations the representatives of Airtel and 9Mobile opposed the plan to transfer the License of Visafone to MTN , insisting that MTN already had over 38 percent of Spectrum holding in the industry.

    They argued that should the NCC concede to the transfer, the development would not only create a monopoly for MTN, but make competition difficult among industrial players while a lot of telecommunications companies would be permanently disadvantaged.

    But the representatives of MTN argued that the acquisition would promote more investment in the sector in line with government policy for the deployment of broadband infrastructures especially to the rural areas more so when the enabling laws were not contravened.

  • MTN: we’re committed to kids’ future

    MTN has assured kids of its unwavering commitment to building bright future for where they could realise their dreams and live a good life.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, who gave the assurance when he led some workers of the telco to the premises of St. George’s Primary School, Ikoyi, Lagos, as part of activities marking this year’s Children’s Day said: “When we think of Children’s Day, we think of one key word – Bright. Bright describes the future that we are trying to build together and it also describes your future. We believe that your future is bright and because of that, I say to you – stay confident, stay focused and always believe in yourself,” Moolman told the excited kids.

    Accompanied by MTN executives and workers, Mr Moolman spent time speaking with the teachers and pupils, distributing gifts. He also asked that teacher’s efforts be applauded for their indispensable role in shaping our future leaders.

    MTN Human Resource Executive, Esther Akinnukawe, who also spoke at the event, explained: “Beyond our gathering here today, across our service centres and office locations, we are also celebrating Children’s Day and sharing the same message that we are sharing with you today – you are the future and we believe in you.”

    Showing their appreciation, St. George’s Primary School administrators and teachers praised MTN  for the outreach.

    With the holiday that fell on weekend, the ICT firm took the opportunity to spend time with their younger neighbours.

  • MTN: we’re building bright future for kids

    MTN has assured kids of its unwavering commitment to building a bright future for where they could realise their dreams and live a good life.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, who gave the assurance when he led some workers of the telco to the premises of St. George’s Primary School, Ikoyi, Lagos, as part of activities to mark this year’s Children’s Day said: “When we think of Children’s Day, we think of one key word – Bright. Bright describes the future that we are trying to build together and it also describes your future. We believe that your future is bright and because of that, I say to you – stay confident, stay focused and always believe in yourself,” Moolman told the excited kids.

    Accompanied by MTN executives and workers, Mr Moolman spent time speaking with the teachers and pupils, distributing gifts. He also asked that teacher’s efforts be applauded for their indispensable role in shaping our future leaders.

    MTN Human Resource Executive, Esther Akinnukawe, who also spoke at the event, explained: “Beyond our gathering here today, across our service centres and office locations, we are also celebrating Children’s Day and sharing the same message that we are sharing with you today – you are the future and we believe in you.”

    Showing their appreciation, St. George’s Primary School administrators and teachers were full of praise for MTN and commended the company for the outreach.

    With the holiday that fell on weekend, the ICT firm took the opportunity to spend time with their younger neighbours.

    Children’s Day celebrates the welfare and inherent potential of children, who are vital in achieving the success of any country.

  • MTN gears up for IPO

    MTN Group yesterday said it was perfecting the details of its proposed Nigeria Initial Public Offering (IPO), the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    MTN Group’s spokesperson, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed this in response to enquiries on why the telco was yet to file applications for the proposed offer.

    Both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are yet to receive applications from the company for the offer.

    The MTN representative said detailed process and work stream on the IPO were currently underway and would be announced at the appropriate time.

    NAN reports that IPO is process through which a private company or corporation raises investment capital by offering its stock to the public for the first time.

    Speaking on the IPO process, the spokesperson said MTN had not made known the offer value contrary to the 500 million dollars being speculated in the media.

    “To clarify some matters on the IPO process, no amount/value has been given by MTN Group or MTN Nigeria regarding the IPO and there was never a statement on a ‘proposed $500m IPO.’

    “In the communication we have issued to the market, we have noted that we expected this IPO process to be concluded during 2018 and there was not a specific date given,” the representative said.