MTN CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa |
Sifiso
Dabengwa was quoted in a company statement as saying he resigned "due
to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN
Nigeria."
Former group
president Phuthuma Nhleko will act in his place for the next six months,
the company said. Nhleko promised to "proactively deal" with the
Nigerian Communications Commission, the regulator that fined the
subsidiary for failing to meet a deadline to deactivate 5.2 million
unregistered cellphone SIM cards. It's considered a security threat in
Nigeria, where authorities say cell phones are used to coordinate
suicide bombings and other militant attacks by Boko Haram Islamic
extremists as well as in rampant kidnappings and armed robberies.
Risk
analyst Eurasia Group on Monday suggested Nigeria likely will "sharply
reduce" the fine by more than half, or face "a chilling impact on
foreign direct investment."
The
share price of the company based in South Africa and listed on the
Johannesburg Stock exchange has lost about a fifth of its value,
according to South Africa's Business Report.
"Shareholders
are advised to continue to exercise caution when dealing in the
company's securities until a further announcement is made," MTN said.
On
Monday, the price dipped on news of Dabengwa's resignation. When the
fine was first announced at the end of October, MTN's share price
tumbled. Last week, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange halted trade of MTN
shares until the company assured shareholders that it was negotiating
the fine with Nigerian authorities.
Nigeria's
60 million-plus MTN cellphone subscribers provide about one-third of
profits for MTN Group, which has 233 million subscribers in Africa, Asia
and the Middle East, according to the company website.
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