South African-owned telecommunications firm, MTN Group has revealed plans to increase substantially its capital spending in Nigeria in the new fiscal year till 2017 after agreeing to settle a $1.7 billion fine in its biggest market. The firm is to spend $726 million (N143 billion) (11 billion Rand) in upgrading its Nigeria’s network in the 2016 fiscal year.
The capital outlay more than doubles its initial capital spending target in the Nigerian market. This is a development coming five days after agreeing to pay a heavily-reduced penalty to settle a regulatory dispute with Nigeria for missing a deadline to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM cards.
The investment plan in Nigeria is also substantially higher than its spending of nearly $327.82 million (N65.2 billion) last year. The firm is, however, yet to give a specific target for 2017. MTN’s plan will see the roll-out of 3G network population coverage from 67.23 per cent to about 90 per cent.
The company also said it expected higher revenues in Nigeria supported by reconnecting subscribers and the introduction of new services in May. According to analysts, the telecommunications company has bounced back in deepening its biggest market following 68.3 per cent reduction in its N1.04 trillion fine.
In April, this year, MTN said its investment profile in Nigeria had further risen by 23 per cent from $13 billion to $16 billion (over N3 trillion) in the last two years. The investment represents about half of the total assets in the nation’s telecoms industry, which currently stands at over $32 billion as at mid-2013, according to data from the NCC.
MTN Executive, Amina Oyagbola, was quoted as saying: “In Nigeria, the revolution in the ICT sector has provided well over $32 billion in foreign direct investment over the last 15 years. As part of that ICT ecosystem and guided by our recognition of the boundless potential of our great nation within the digital economy, MTN has invested over $16 billion (over N3 trillion) to date in fixed assets and facilities nationwide to build the most expansive network in the country.”
Oyagbola said that Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) continues to attract foreign investments and unleash further world of opportunities for the economy.