MTN To Raise $1Billion Asset Sales In Three Years
After massive profit report in 2018,MTN Group in South Africa has said it plans to raise more than 15 billion rand (1.05 billion dollars) in asset sales over the next 36 months .
The Africa’s biggest telecoms group whose shares surged more than 7 per cent on the announcement, is reviewing its operations in some markets and its investments in e-commerce platforms, as part of a plan to focus on high-growth.
The company said, on Thursday that “The group has committed to the portfolio review realizing more than 15 billion rand over the next three years, excluding any proceeds from its 23 billion rand position in IHS,”
It added that its investments in tower companies and e-commerce platforms, such as African online retailer Jumia, were valued at 40 billion rand and would be sold as they were not long-term strategic assets.
IHS is a builder of cell phone towers. Shares in MTN jumped 7.2 per cent to 81.70 rand by 0731 GMT, outperforming a 0.5 per cent rise on the benchmark JSE Top-40 index.
Founded with government help after the end of apartheid in 1994, MTN has been one of South Africa’s biggest corporate success stories, but clashes with regulators have distracted management and crimped growth. Chief Executive Rob Shuter, appointed in 2017 from Vodafone, has drawn up a growth plan .
As part of the review, the South African company has agreed to sell its minority stake in Botswana’s Mascom for 300 million dollars. It sold its sole European unit in Cyprus last year.
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