THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said tougher financial checks on the country’s biggest mobile-phone companies could prevent a repeat of 2017’s collapse of debt-laden Etisalat, according to Bloomberg.

The NCC has compiled reports on MTN Nigeria, the market leader with 52.3 million customers, Airtel Nigeria, and Globacom, according to Umar Garba Danbatta, NCC executive vice chairman.

Etisalat Nigeria, which has been renamed 9mobile and is for sale, plunged into crisis almost a year ago. A consortium of banks seized control of a 45 percent stake from Etisalat after it defaulted on a USD 1.2 billion loan.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC stepped in to avoid the collapse of the company, which employs 4,000 people and has about 17 million subscribers, down from 19.6 million at the end of March.

The regulator has identified some areas of concern and issues that can be addressed, said Danbatta. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will do a financial check of the winner of the 9mobile auction, and the NCC will be focused on the buyer’s ability to provide a quality service, Danbatta said.

Two companies are vying to take over 9mobile in a process that the NCC hopes will be concluded by the end of March. Local media have claimed that Teleology Holdings and South Africa-based data provider Smile Communications are the remaining bidders, without saying where they got their information. Both companies declined to comment. – NigeriaCommsWeek

– Feb.  26, 2018 @ 11:25 GMT |