MTN is set to invest an equivalent of R17 billion ($1 billion) of capital expenditure over the next five years in Ghana.
This, as Africa’s largest telco reaffirmed its commitment to Ghana after a recent tax furore with revenue authorities in the West African nation.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) had squabbled with MTN over a R13 billion tax bill, but the matter was put to bed when the GRA withdrew the claim.
Yesterday, speaking from MTN headquarters in Johannesburg, group CEO Ralph Mupita committed further investments in Ghana, a market it has been invested in for over 25 years.
MTN is the leading telco in Ghana, with a 55.21% market share and a subscriber base of 24 million. The country remains one of the key markets on the continent for the Pan-African mobile operator.
Mupita said: “We will invest an equivalent of $1 billion of capital expenditure over the next five years. We see 5G as a technology that could spur faster growth, with industrial use cases in mining, agriculture, oil, ports, logistics and smart cities over time. There are short-term headwinds but the investment case for Ghana remains very compelling.
“MTN remains excited and highly committed to Ghana as a market. To be sure, macro-economic conditions are very challenging in the near-term. That said, we are focused on the medium- and long-term and we are seeing growth.”
“The crowding in of private long-term capital will support economic recovery efforts and spur growth, in our view. We are here to play our part as a partner for socio-economic progress.”
Furthermore, he said, the telco recently opened a Customer Success Centre for MTN GlobalConnect’s Pan-African operations, which is phase one “of our greater investments in Ghana and an opportunity to onshore digital skills into the market”.
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