Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
The regulatory action taken by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to facilitate the listing of MTN Nigeria on the nation’s stock market has continued to bear economic gains to Nigerians in boosting market capitalisation and yielding dividend to shareholders, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has said.
Market analysts recently reported that MTN investors raked in approximately N1 trillion in price appreciation and dividend since April 2020. The listing of MTN was as a result of NCC’s effective regulatory action taken during the mobile network operator’s fine settlement agreement in 2016, which compelled it to among other things, list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The listing was one of the outcomes of the NCC’s stringent regulatory posture, which served as tonic for other telcos, including Airtel to follow the same direction.
As the country’s independent telecoms regulatory authority, the NCC, working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), facilitated the landmark listing of the country’s largest telecommunications operator on the bourse.