MTN - Founded In 1994

Trading in MTN Group was halted in Johannesburg after the stock fell 8%.

Dealings later started again after the company said it was in talks with Nigerian authorities about reducing the record $5.2bn (£2.7bn) fine.

The sum amounts to double MTN's annual profits last year.

The Nigerian Communications Commission imposed the penalty for failing to cut off unregistered mobile users, giving MTN just two weeks to pay.

How much is $5bn?

The $5.2bn (£2.7bn) fine MTN is facing is the same as:

22% of Nigeria's annual budget

Double MTN's annual group profits ($2.69bn after tax)
$80 for every single MTN customer in Nigeria

1.5x Nigeria's annual capital expenditure

95% of Nigeria's annual spend on servicing its national debt

The company said on Monday it was in talks with the Nigerian presidency, internal security agency and the communications regulator about the fine.

Chief executive Sifiso Dabengwa, who used to run the company's Nigerian operations, is understood to have flown to Abuja in a bid to negotiate a lower penalty.

Nigeria is MTN's biggest market, with 28.5 million subscribers, followed by Iran and South Africa.

The company's shares had fallen by about 25% since the fine was announced on Monday last week, wiping about 60bn rand (£2.7bn) off its market value, with the company now worth about £13bn.

The stock was down 5.5% after trading recommenced.

Analysis: Matthew Davies, Africa Business Report editor, Johannesburg

There's more to this story than meets the eye. It's not simply a case of a company failing foul of regulatory authorities and getting a slap on the wrist - some analysts say this $5.2bn slap is enough to break or seriously bruise MTN's wrist.

The fine was imposed because MTN failed to cut off unregistered SIM cards, which was regarded as crucial to limiting the communications of Nigeria's various armed criminal and terrorist groups.

It is thought that the kidnapping of a former finance minister, Chief Olu Falae, was the thin end of the wedge for the Nigerian authorities.

He was taken by armed men at the end of the September. It transpired that the phone the kidnappers were using to communicate their ransom demands had an unregistered SIM card from MTN.

That is when the Nigerian government is thought to have finally run out of patience with the mobile operator.

MTN has 231 million subscribers in 22 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

In September, the company was named as most admired brand in Africa in the Brand Africa 100 awards, beating Samsung, while it was also awarded the continent's most valuable brand - worth $4.6bn (£3bn).
MTN was South Africa's second mobile operator when it was set up in 1994 after the fall of apartheid.
It began its expansion across Africa four years later with operations in Rwanda, Uganda and Swaziland.

MTN Coverage

As Of 1Q 2014, MTN is active in:

Afghanistan 6.058 Millions

Benin 3.259 Millions

Botswana 1.700 Millions

Cameroon 9.236 Millions

Republic of Congo 1.86 Millions

Cyprus 0.399 Millions

Ghana 13.055 Millions

Guinea 2.885 Millions

Guinea Bissau 0.490 Millions

Iran 41.783 Millions

Ivory Coast 7.521 Millions

Liberia 1.355 Millions

Nigeria 57.224 Millions

Rwanda 4.001 Millions

South Africa 24.875 Millions

Sudan 8.672 Millions

South Sudan 0.732 Millions

Swaziland 0.813 Millions

Syria 5.723 Millions

Uganda 9.549 Millions

Yemen 5.185 Millions

Zambia 4.4 Millions

As you Can see Nigeria Has The Highest Subscribers

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34696777

cc: lalasticlala