MTN Group Ltd.'s CEO Ralph Mupita projected that Nigeria will recover from the structural reforms implemented by President Bola Tinubu by the middle of next year, according to an interview he gave on Bloomberg Television on Thursday. Mupita acknowledged the initial discomfort businesses faced due to the removal of subsidies and the liberalization of the naira but emphasized the necessity of these changes for long-term growth and earnings repair.
The relaxation of foreign exchange controls this year led to a plunge in the value of the naira, which in turn impacted earnings and triggered inflation due to the removal of fuel subsidies. Despite these challenges and ongoing reviews of Nigerian tax demands, MTN remains optimistic about its medium-to-long-term investment case in Nigeria, its largest market and business growth vector.
In addition to its core telecommunications services, MTN is also driving growth in digital adoption and financial inclusion, with its Lagos-listed unit making a significant contribution to revenue.
To stabilize the weakened naira and clear the dollar demand backlog, Finance Minister Wale Edun is leading an initiative to attract $10 billion inflows. This initiative forms part of the broader effort to manage the economic fallout from the structural reforms and restore stability to Nigeria's financial system.
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