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MTN Group Ltd. is on the verge of losing another high-ranking leader over the next few months, sources close to the case say, as Africa's largest mobile operator struggles over more than $ 10 billion in claims on its largest market from Nigeria.
The director of innovation, Herman Singh, is expected to leave soon and will start his own technology company, said the population, who asked not to be identified because the information was not made public. The exit will come as technology chief Babak Fouladi prepares to join the Dutch telecommunications company KPN NV in a similar role next week.
MTN confirmed the departure of Fouladi announced by KPN in Rotterdam earlier this month. Singh refused to comment.
The leaders leave after a period of three years of considerable turbulence at MTN. A shocking $ 5.2 billion in Nigeria in 2015 tainted MTN in 10 months of negotiations and prompted a redesign of management. Earlier this year, authorities in this West African country announced a new round of multibillion dollar claims.
The stock was halved over the period, valuing the carrier at 169 billion rand ($ 12.2 billion). It is even then that the demand for data services in Africa is increasing and that MTN is growing in fast-growing services such as mobile money.
The shares have again lost 2% Tuesday to 87.97 rand at 12:10. in Johannesburg.
Disbands Team
MTN General Manager Rob Shuter hired Fouladi two years ago from Vodafone Group Plc in Spain as he badembled a new team following the first sanction imposed on Nigeria, which was eventually reduced to around 1 billion dollars. Singh, formerly with MTN's rival Vodacom Group Ltd., was named in 2015.
Stephen Van Coller also left MTN at the end of August to head EOH Holdings Ltd., a technology company. Initially hired to head the mergers and acquisitions, this former banking executive was responsible for managing digital services before leaving two years in office.
The latest conflict between MTN and the Nigerian authorities concerns an allegation that the company illegally transferred $ 8.1 billion out of the country and will owe $ 2 billion in back taxes. Although the transaction seems almost closed, while the governor of the central bank Godwin Emefiele said he was "about to announce" a friendly resolution, the tax claim has still not been settled.
Among the other headaches that MTN faces are cash-extraction problems of Iran, its third market, after US President Donald Trump reinstated sanctions against the country . The carrier has also been pressured to register national units on local exchanges, with Uganda being the last to link a stock sale to license renewals.
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