Bulletin: MTN Group Ltd. Ratings Under Review On Announced Resolution Of Central Bank Of Nigeria's FX Transaction Investigation

JOHANNESBURG (S&P Global Ratings) Dec. 28, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that its ratings on South Africa-based MTN Group Ltd. (MTN; BB+/Watch Neg/--) are under review. This follows recent news that the investigation into the historical use of certificates of capital importation by MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. (MTN Nigeria) to pay dividends between 2007 and 2015 has been resolved. We placed the ratings on MTN on CreditWatch with negative implications on Sept. 20, 2018, following the announcement that the Central Bank of Nigeria had demanded repatriation of US$8.1 billion in hard currency that MTN Nigeria paid to shareholders as dividends (see "South Africa-Based MTN Group Ltd. 'BB+' Rating Placed On CreditWatch Negative"). The CreditWatch placement also reflected the Nigerian Attorney

...JOHANNESBURG (S&P Global Ratings) Dec. 28, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that its ratings on South Africa-based MTN Group Ltd. (MTN; ##+/Watch Neg/--) are under review. This follows recent news that the investigation into the historical use of certificates of capital importation by MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. (MTN Nigeria) to pay dividends between 2007 and 2015 has been resolved. We placed the ratings on MTN on CreditWatch with negative implications on Sept. 20, 2018, following the announcement that the Central Bank of Nigeria had demanded repatriation of US$8.1 billion in hard currency that MTN Nigeria paid to shareholders as dividends (see "South Africa-Based MTN Group Ltd. '##+' Rating Placed On CreditWatch Negative"). The CreditWatch placement also reflected the Nigerian Attorney General's claims regarding unpaid taxes of US$2 billion due to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Both of these actions by Nigerian institutions led to a risk of MTN exhibiting materially weaker financial...

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