Picture: Gallo Images
Trading in MTN shares was suspended for a little over two hours on the JSE yesterday, pending an announcement from the company. Trading, however, resumed in the early afternoon.
The JSE announced at 11.23am that it had halted all trading in MTN shares, with John Burke, director of Issuer Regulation, saying trading would resume “as soon as MTN Group has issued a Sens (Stock Exchange News Service) announcement”.
This sparked speculation around the $5.2 billion (R71.7 billion) fine MTN has been issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission.
About 1.30pm MTN made its announcement: “Engagements with the Nigerian authorities are continuing and any material developments in these enagagements will be communicated to shareholders through Sens.
“Shareholders should specifically exercise caution when reacting to information on this matter which has not been released by the company,” it read in part.
The JSE followed this with an announcement that trading in MTN shares would resume with a 10-minute re-opening auction at 1.40pm.
Brought to you by Moneyweb