Shares in MTN's Zakhele empowerment scheme are due to start trading in January, chairman Thulani Gcabashe told the City Press.
The paper says technical upgrades to the platform have been completed and the scheme is now just waiting for approval from the Financial Services Board.
Gcabashe is quoted as saying the empowerment plan does not yet have a date from the board.
Ordinary shares in MTN Zakhele are owned by about 120 000 black investors, who were locked in for a three-year period after buying in at R20 a share in November 2010.
The scheme collectively owns 4% of the MTN Group and has been touted as the largest empowerment deal in the telecoms sector.
Trade in Zakhele shares was initially set to resume in the third week of December after a system crash halted a previous go-live bid after two days.
The system crashed because "it is a fairly complex system and the large volumes created problems", Gcabashe has said. He explained demand exceeded what the system could handle and it would not go live again until the team was happy it was robust.
Over the two days that trade did take place, almost 200 000 shares - worth a total of R15.9 million - were traded. The stock closed at R80 on 26 November.
Share