The MTN Group, the pan-African mobile services operator, has said it is committed to its agreement with the government of Ghana to further localise its holdings in the country.

Last year, the group and the government agreed to increase local ownership in MTN Ghana by a further sale of 12.5 percent shares to Ghanaians.

In its 2020 annual report to investors released this week, the group said it remains committed to the agreement, which will increase local shareholding to 25 percent in MTN Ghana, also known as Scancom Plc.

Last year, MTN Ghana sought authorisation from shareholders for the implementation of an employee share scheme by way of an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) for lower-level staff and a Performance Share Plan for senior staff.

The total amount of shares subject to the scheme will be allocated on an estimated share price of GH¢0.60, representing about 4.41 percent of the issued share capital of GH¢1.097bn of Scancom Plc.

Efforts are also being made to localise 30 percent of MobileMoney Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scancom Plc, which is a licence requirement according to the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987). The deadline to meet this requirement was extended by the central bank to January 15, 2022.

Significant market power

The company says it is optimistic of a positive result from discussions on its significant market power status that was declared by the regulator, the National Communications Authority, last year.

“Importantly, engagements and discussions with relevant stakeholders continued after they were briefly suspended leading up to the national elections in December 2020, and we are optimistic that these discussions will result in a positive outcome for MTN Ghana and the long-term sustainability of the industry.”

2020 Performance

MTN Ghana recorded a profit of GH¢1.3 nillion last year, representing about 38.4 percent year-on-year growth. Total revenue was GH¢6 billion, a 16.4 percent increase over that of 2019.

The board of the company recommended a final dividend of GH¢0.05 per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to GH¢0.08 per share.

MTN Ghana subscribers increased by 23.4 percent to 24.4 million, whilst active data subscribers increased by 32.4 percent to 10.8 million