Pressure mounts on MTN Nigeria

MTN faces new pressure on its dominance of its biggest market by subscriber base, Nigeria, after rival operator Etisalat signed a $1.2 billion refinancing loan with 13 Nigerian banks to bolster its network in the region.

“The company plans to use the proceeds to refinance the existing commercial medium term debt of $650 million and continue its network rollout,” Etisalat said.

By 13h00, shares in MTN declined 2.53% or 4.67% to R179.83 on the JSE. The All Shares Index declined 0.60% to 41,566 points.

Launched in 2001, MTN has a market share of 49.7%  (Q1 2013) in Nigeria, which boasts a population of 161 million, and a penetration rate of 65%.

According to data compiled by the Nigeria Communications Commission, Nigeria is the fastest growing telecommunications market in Africa, rising from 500,000 telephone subscribers in 2001 to over 108 million as at December 2012.

For the year ended 31 December 2012, MTN’s total subscriber base increased by 13.9% to 47.4 million in Nigeria, but market share was down 2.5% to 47.5% for the year.

MTN says it hopes to add 7 million new subscribers in 2013.

Its rivals in Nigeria include Nigeria’s Globacom, Indian-owned Bharti Airtel and Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat).