The withdrawal of Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice from the $2 billion tax dispute against MTN Nigeria has impacted positively on the company’s shares at the stock market in South Africa, Bloomberg understands.
The stocks of MTN Group witnessed a rise as it leaped to 5.3% higher in Johannesburg on Friday, Bloomberg reported.
According to Bloomberg, MTN shares traded at 83.67 rand at the close on Friday, valuing the company at 158 billion rand ($11.1 billion).
The litigation had been an impediment in the progress of the telecommunications company shares for months on end.
Commenting on the AGF’s decision to drop the tax dispute, MTN Chief Executive Officer, Rob Shuter, said in a statement that the development would provide for “an orderly and amicable resolution of this matter,”
He said, “MTN remains fully committed to meeting our fiscal responsibilities and contributing to the social and economic development of Nigeria and all regions where we operate.”
LagosTimes had reported that MTN Nigeria was set to begin the process of withdrawing its case against the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.
This came after the latter dropped the demand for the sum of N242 billion and $1.2 billion from the telecommunications company.
The claim by the AGF was one of the many governments and regulator challenges MTN faced prior to its listing in Nigeria and after its IPO in its biggest market in Africa.
MTN has 52.1 million subscribers in Nigeria. The decision of the AGF, however, didn’t affect MTN’s shares in its biggest market, Nigeria. Despite the positive impact on its South African shares, the company’s share price in Nigeria remained flat, recording no movement.