Nigeria wants to end a dispute with MTN Group over a claim that the carrier illegally transferred $8.1-billion out of the country, an indication relations between the two parties have started to thaw.
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Discarded by its globe-trotting parent Naspers after more than three decades, African pay-television heavyweight MultiChoice Group is facing an uncertain future.
The Nigerian attorney-general’s office exceeded its powers when it demanded MTN Group pay about $2-billion in back taxes, Africa’s largest wireless operator has said.
Telecoms minister Siyabonga Cwele has strongly suggested that the South African government stands ready to intervene on MTN Group’s behalf over the more than $10-billion in demands placed on the telecommunications provider by Nigeria.
Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator will strive to keep relations amicable between the government and MTN Group as the two parties negotiate $10-billion of claims against Africa’s largest wireless operator.
MTN Group is taking Nigeria’s central bank and attorney-general to court over a dispute that has crashed the market value of the Johannesburg-headquartered telecommunications group.
MTN Group has become a battleground issue for Nigerian politicians vying for ascendancy ahead of a national election in February, with $10-billion worth of claims made against the South African wireless carrier.
Accra’s share market was poised for a massive boost in liquidity on Wednesday when shares started trading in MTN Group’s local unit.
Nigeria is seeking about $2-billion in back taxes from MTN Group, another curve ball directed at Africa’s biggest wireless carrier that’s come to light less than a week after it was ordered to refund $8.1-billion in “illegally” repatriated funds.
MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter said the company is committed to Nigeria even as it considers how to respond to an order to return $8.1-billion in repatriated funds.