Mobile phone giant MTN says Nigeria has dropped a 16 November deadline for it to pay a $5.2bn (£2.7bn) fine, as negotiations between the two sides continue over the firm’s failure to register 5.1 million subscribers.
“Shareholders are advised that the Nigerian authorities have, without prejudice, agreed that the imposed fine will not be payable until the negotiations have been concluded,” the South Africa-based company said in a statement ”
These discussions include matters of non-compliance and the remedial measures that may have to be adopted to address this,” it added.
The Nigerian Communications Commission imposed the penalty on MTN – Africa’s biggest mobile company – for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers, a key policy aimed at preventing militant Islamists from using mobile phones.
Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, with 28.5 million subscribers, followed by Iran and South Africa.
