Business

FG Slams Fresh $2 Billion Tax Bill on MTN

Published

6 years ago

September 5, 2018

Eric

MTN Group faces a $2 billion demand for taxes in Nigeria, the latest in a series of skirmishes with authorities in the South African mobile phone company’s most lucrative but increasingly problematic market.

The announcement of the tax bill incurred over the last decade comes days after the west African country’s central bank ordered MTN’s Lagos-based unit to hand over $8.1 billion that it said was illegally sent abroad.

Mobile operator MTN disclosed it had been in talks with Nigeria’s Attorney General about an investigation into tax compliance in a statement outlining the background to the case of the money sent out of the country.

“In this process, his (the Attorney General’s) office made a high-level calculation that MTN Nigeria should have paid approximately $2.0 billion in taxes relating to the importation of foreign equipment and payments to foreign suppliers over the last 10 years,” MTN said.

MTN, whose Nigerian business brings in a third of its annual core profit, or EBITDA, said its total payment of around $700 million over the 10-year period fully settled the amount owing under the taxes in question.

The latest demands come two years after MTN, Africa’s biggest telecoms company, agreed to pay more than $1 billion to end a dispute with Nigeria over unregistered SIM cards.

Shares in MTN dropped 5.6 percent to 81.95 rand as of 1250 GMT, bringing losses since last Thursday, when the central bank issued the $8.1 billion demand, to nearly 25 percent.

“These are old issues that have been investigated and closed but now they are being reopened,” said Byron Lotter, a portfolio manager at Vestact in Johannesburg.

“I’m not surprised that a lot of people are selling and saying ‘these guys are just too volatile, I’m out’. I wonder if MTN are thinking the same.”

PULLING OUT

South African hotels and casino group Sun International said it was in final stages of exiting Nigeria following clashes with regulators and shareholders.

It is following in the footsteps of retailer Woolworths and foodmaker Tiger Brands, both of which quit Nigeria over the last three years.

MTN, which has expanded in more than 20 frontier markets that include war-ravaged Syria and Afghanistan, called the latest demands by Nigerian authorities “regrettable and disconcerting”.

“MTN Nigeria will continue to engage with the relevant authorities on all these matters, and we remain resolute that MTN Nigeria has not committed any offences and will vigorously defend its position,” the company said.

Nigeria’s attorney general, Abubakar Malami, declined to comment, referring Reuters to a spokeswoman at the ministry of justice. She could not immediately be reached by phone.

MTN’s regulatory troubles in the oil-rich country come ahead of next year’s presidential election, in which Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who swept to power on promises of tougher regulations and a stronger fight against corruption in a 2015 election, is seeking re-election.

But analysts say Nigeria’s demands against MTN risk further undermining its efforts to shake off an image as a risky frontier market for investors.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Aruo in JOHANNESBURG, Camillus Eboh in ABUJA and Alexis Akwagyiram in LAGOS Editing by James Macharia/Keith Weir

Reuters

Business

FirstBank Appoints New MD/CEO, Alebiosu

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Eric

First Bank of Nigeria has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as its new Managing Director with effect from April 2024.

The Bank stated this in a release signed by its acting company secretary Adewale Arogundade.

Alebiosu takes from Adesola Adeduntan, who resigned abruptly on Saturday with eight months left to complete his tenure in December 2024.

The release stated that “following the resignation of the managing director/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Board of Directors has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as the acting CEO of the 130-year-old institution.

“The appointment takes effect immediately and is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The release stated that Alebiosu was until this appointment the executive director, chief risk officer and executive compliance officer since January 2022. Prior to that, he was the Group executive/ chief risk officer, a position he held since 2016.

“Alebiosu brings to the executive management of FirstBank over 28 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry with cross-functional exposure to Credit risk management, Financial planning and control, Credit and marketing, Trade, Corporate and commercial banking, Agriculture financing, Oil and Gas, Transportation (including Aviation and Shipping) and Project financing.”

It added that the new acting MD/CEO commenced his professional career in 1991 with Oceanic Bank Plc (now EcoBank) and prior to joining FirstBank in 2016 served as Chief Risk Officer at Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, Chief Credit Risk Officer at African Development Bank Group and Group Head, Credit Policy & Deputy Chief Credit Risk Officer at United Bank for Africa Plc.

“He is an alumnus of Harvard School of Government and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management. He also obtained a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

“He is a member of various professional bodies namely, Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA), Associate, Nigeria Institute of Management (ANIM), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Member, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.”

Business

Again, Naira Slumps Against Dollar, Trades at N1,169/$1 in Official Window

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Eric

The Naira, on Friday, slumped for the second consecutive day against the American dollar at the official window trading at N1,169/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

At the end of trading on Friday, the Naira lost N15 against the dollar when compared to the previous exchange rate of N1,154/$1 on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

The intra-day high and low recorded during the day were N1,236/$1 and N1,021/$1 respectively, representing a lean spread of N215/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the dollar at the parallel market for the second consecutive day to trade at N1,150/$1 representing a loss of N50 when compared to the N1,100/$1 it traded the previous day.

The British Pound also slumped against the Naira by N50 to trade at N1,500/£1 as against the previous trading price of N1,450/£1 representing a loss of N50 for the local currency,

The Canadian dollar however closed flat against the Naira to trade at N1,000/CA$1 same as the previous trading day rate of N1,000/ CA$1.

The Euro also slumped against the Naira to trade at N1, 280/€1 as against the rate of N1,200/€1 the previous trading rate indicating a gain of N80 in the European currency.

Business

Glo Launches New Internet Solution Products for Homes, Businesses

Published

2 weeks ago

April 8, 2024

Eric

Two new products, which provide internet connectivity solutions specially designed for Residential and SME commercial customers, have been unveiled by digital solutions company, Globacom.

The products, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Business (FTTB) were packaged for Glo customers to enjoy reliable and high speed internet through linked fibre services.

Globacom said in a statement in Lagos “With these services, businesses and homes can access dedicated internet speeds of up to 1GBps, allowing unlimited internet usages for seamless video calls, video and music streaming and a whole lot of other dedicated usages to promote business success and equally provide endless entertainment for homes”.

It explained that the new product comes with a unique opportunity for “Residential Estates, High Rise Apartments, Commercial SME Estates to enjoy dedicated high speed internet in their cluster”.

These services, according to Globacom, give exceptional experience and unmatched speed for users at home or in offices and are provided through hi-speed fibre – unlike copper which was being used in the past.

Positioning itself as the premier provider of innovative solutions for businesses of all sizes, Globacom assured customers of the best value for money with the new offerings, adding that users who sign on for these services will also enjoy fully dedicated bandwidth.

“We are committed to delivering the most cost-effective data connectivity experience for homes and businesses in addition to providing dedicated and reliable services.” Globacom concluded.