$2 Billion Tax Dispute: MTN Nigeria Shares Plunges To Lowest Level Since Listing

Following the Wednesday adjournment of the tax dispute lawsuit between Nigeria and telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria, the shares of the company have dropped on Thursday to their lowest level since the firm was listed last May.

The court case between Nigeria and MTN Group was adjourned until October 29.

Analysts said the court adjournment created uncertainty for investors as the tax dispute would continue to linger, Reuters reports.

Shares in MTN, the local unit of South African telecoms group MTN Group, dropped 2.4% to N128.75 each, their lowest level since May 21.

They were still above their initial public offer price of N99 when the company listed on May 16.

Nigeria’s attorney general, Abubakar Malami hit MTN Nigeria with a $2 billion tax bill last September.

MTN Nigeria listed with a valuation of N2 trillion, making it the second-biggest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

It climbed to as high as N159.30 in the days after listing.

The listing came after the South African group resolved another dispute in Nigeria over unregistered SIM cards.

In December, it made a $53 million payment to resolve a money transfer allegation out of Nigeria, levelled by the central bank.

Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, with 58 million users in 2018 and accounting for a third of the group’s core profit.

MTN has said it would sell more shares to the public and increase local ownership in MTN Nigeria once the tax row was resolved.