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Monrovia – The problematic market and the unfavorable economic situation expose Liberia to the risk of losing the investment of MTN which joined LoneStar Cell Communications a few years ago.
LoneStarCell / MTN has since been the largest taxpayer in the country.
The company is one of two GSM companies operating in Liberia.
However, according to reports, MTN Group Ltd. having asked his Cypriot unit to consider a wider exit from small and problematic markets. According to sources close to the record, the Liberian unit that runs a number of West African divisions could be fired, but the LoneStarCell / MTN office in Monrovia said they were not aware of any such plan [19659005]. ] Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the largest mobile phone company in Africa by subscribers sees businesses in Liberia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau as the ones it could do without, said two of the people, o asked for not to be identified because the information is not public. The review is being conducted by general manager Rob Shuter, who said in March that he planned to badess whether the Johannesburg-based company needed a presence in the 22 markets in which she operates.
MTN spokesperson not to comment MTN announced Monday the sale of its Cypriot unit to Monaco Telecom SA, the French billionaire Xavier Niel, for about 260 million euros ($ 302 million), the first exit of the country since 24 years. Cyprus had the lowest number of subscribers in all MTN markets at the end of March, although Liberia and Guinea-Bissau were close.
The only other MTN division with less than 1 million customers is South Sudan. Civil war since 2013.
MTN casts eye on the Empire as carrier trolleys Where to cut
The sale of small markets could be the preparation of an attempt to penetrate Angola, a declared one of the inhabitants. The second largest producer of African crude intends to sell a minority stake in the state-owned telecommunications provider Angola Telecom and hold an auction for a fourth operator.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia, Africa's most populous nation after Nigeria, is considering selling from the state-owned telecommunications company to foreign investors, opening the door to a market coveted by MTN and its competitor Vodacom Group Ltd.
MTN has struggled with regulators and governments across the continent in recent years, increasing pressure on some markets. In Benin, the carrier agreed in May to pay 70 billion CFA francs ($ 125 million) to settle a dispute over frequency fees and obtain a five-year license extension. The company also had to impose conditions for a new license in Cameroon, after accepting a penalty of $ 6.6 million.
All this pales in comparison to the woes of MTN Nigeria, where she was sentenced to pay a fine of $ 1 billion in 2016 missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered users amid a crackdown on security. However, the carrier has repeatedly stated its commitment to its largest market and this will probably not change, said the people familiar with the situation.
Liberia struggled to revive its economy after an Ebola outbreak early in the decade. the country. Gross domestic product contracted by 1.6% in 2016, according to World Bank data. New President George Weah, who took office in January, is committed this week to "aggressive" monetary and fiscal policies as inflation skyrockets and the Liberian dollar dies. ; collapses.
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