MTN Ghana has declared a profit after tax of GH¢1.4 billion for the 2020 financial year. Subsequently, the biggest and most successful telecoms company in the country announced an amount of 8Gp per share after approving a dividend payout of GH¢614.5 million. This represents 70.49 per cent of its profit for the year in review. The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Mr Selorm Adadevoh, announced this yesterday at the 3rd annual general meeting (AGM) of the company since it listed on the local bourse and first to be organised virtually since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. More successes The MTN boss said the company recorded 4.6 million new customers in 2020 taking its total subscriber base to 24.4 million. This achievement, he explained, was in spite of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which sent many businesses to their knees. In the same period under review, Mr Adadevoh said MTN also recorded some 2.6 million increases in data customers, and 1.5 million rise in mobile money customers, bringing to 10.6 million, the total number of mobile money customers. These successes contributed to the 16.4 per cent growth in service revenue over the period, after the GH¢1.5 billion capital expenditure in network capacity improvement. Mr Adadevoh said in line with the company’s vision to become a data operator by 2023, the company saw a clear growth in data and mobile money contributions to service revenue, while voice contribution to service revenue declined. According to him, the shift in consumer behaviour due to COVID-19 also led to a 328 per cent surge on MyMTN and Ayoba usage, particularly for gaming and other digital purposes. COVID challenges Mr Adadevoh said MTN focused on supporting its people, customers and the government through various interventions that eventually paid off despite the year in review being a challenging one for all businesses due to the outbreak of COVID-19. He said the initiative to tackle the COVID-19 impact was dubbed “Yello Hope”, under which health and safety of staff was paramount as reflected in comprehensive measures put in place to facilitate remote work while ensuring workers delivered on targets. According to him, MTN also had a daily life monitoring programme in place to ensure that workers who needed any special help got it. “For our customers we collaborated with Bank of Ghana to provide free person to person mobile money transfers of up to GH¢100 a day and that saved customers up to GH¢94 million in transfer fees,” he said. He said the measure also prevented face to face interaction and deepened financial inclusion, adding that the free transfer offer had been extended until further notice. Mr Adadevoh said MTN also provided free access to over 200 education sites, which is benefiting between four to five million students and teachers at various levels of education aside the scholarships under its Bright Scholars initiative. Support for govt The MTN Ghana boss said the government also benefitted from the MTN zero rated visits to several government sites where individuals could access health and other vital information. Aside that, MTN also donated GH¢5million worth of PPE and other vital equipment to the government for the benefit of frontline health workers. “We also donated 87,000 boxes of face masks to 31 health facilities and there is more support ongoing via the US$25 million the MTN Group has offered to the African Union for the COVID-19 fight,” he said. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093

The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has applauded MTN Ghana’s successes within the past two and a half decades. The President said MTN Ghana deserves commendation for the achievements it has attained over the past 25 years. The President said this during the official launch of MTN Ghana’s 25th anniversary at an impressive ceremony held in Accra on June 2, 2021. The ceremony which was attended by the Minister of Communications and Digitalization Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful saw the unveiling of the 25th anniversary logo and a host of activities outlined for the anniversary period. The ceremony was also attended by other Regulators, Partners, Suppliers and the media. MTN Ghana Board Chairman Dr. Ishmael Yamson and the MTN Foundation Board Chairman Prof Franklin Manu along with the members of both boards and Executives of MTN were present at the event. Speaking at the event, President Akufo-Addo said, “Your slogan ‘Everywhere You Go’ says it all. My heartfelt congratulations go to all staff of the organization, policymakers, regulators, service providers and MTN subscribers past and present. Government appreciates your hard work and continuous contributions to the telecommunications sector and the country as a whole”. He added, “We are confident that many more organisations will be inspired by your 25-year journey and successfully emulate your achievements.” The anniversary launch was an opportunity to recount the immense contributions of MTN Ghana to the growth of Ghana’s telecommunications and ICT sector. The CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, used the occasion to express his appreciation to all those who have contributed to the success of the business. He said, “We are deeply humbled and recognize that this achievement has only been possible with the support and contributions of so many before us, who have toiled and built the foundations upon which we stand today. He said, “I will also like to recognize the role the people of Ghana have played in MTN’s business successes. Firstly, for giving us the opportunity to serve you and secondly, for your patronage, feedback and loyalty over the past 25 years”. Whilst recounting the achievements of the company, the CEO said, “we have impacted the lives of Ghanaians in many ways including our social interventions in communities around the country through the MTN Ghana Foundation and our financial inclusion efforts.  Selorm Adadevoh also used the opportunity to share the future focus of the business. Some of the dignitaries at the event included the South African High Commissioner Madam Grace Jeanette Mason, the Former Deputy Minister of Communications and a former Executive of MTN Ghana, Hon George Andah, Director General of the NCA Mr Joe Anokye, CEO of Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications Dr. Ken Ashigbey and the CEO of the Ghana South Africa Business Chamber Grant Webber. The CEO of Ghana Investment Promotion Center Mr. Yoofi Grant as well as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications Hon Cynthia Mamle Morrison and some members of the committee were also present. The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Rev Daniel Ogbamey Tetteh, MD of the Ghana Stock Exchange Mr Ekow Afedzie, the Director General of NITA Richard Ofosu Kyere, GIFEC Administrator Mr Kofi Asante all attended the event.   The Head of Payment Systems of the Bank of Ghana Dr Setor Amediku, Head of Innovation and Fintec Head of the Bank of Ghana Kwame Oppong, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Affail Monney and the CEO of the Consumer Protection Agency, Mr Kofi Kapito, CEO of Huawei Technologies Tommy Zhou graced the occasion with their presence. Customers of MTN Ghana were also informed of a number of promotions designed to reward them for their loyalty to the brand over the past 25 years. The promotions include the ‘Good Day promo’, ‘National Promo’, and ‘Top 2500 customers’ promo’. Prizes to be won include, cars, phones, electronic devices, data and airtime. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

Telecoms giant, MTN Ghana says it plans to increase local ownership in the company to 25% by the close of this year. Currrently, the company has local participation of 16.9%. Selorm Adadevoh, chief executive officer of MTN Ghana, announced this at the virtual annual general meeting of the company on Tuesday (25 May). He said the MTN Group remained committed to its agreement with the government to increase other shareholdings in Scancom PLC to 25%, with a focus on local shareholding. Also, in line with the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 Mobile Money Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scancom PLC, is required to achieve 30% localisation of its shareholding as part of Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) license requirements. Adadevoh said the BoG had extended the deadline to meet the requirement, to 15 January 2022. Significant market power (SMP)  On the issue of the significant market power (SMP) declaration, Adadevoh said a series of engagements with the regulator and other key stakeholders was ongoing to resolve the issue in an amicable manner. He said from October 2020, MTN Ghana implemented the National Communication Authority’s directive to apply a 30% asymmetrical interconnect rate reduction for two years. He said engagements and discussions with relevant stakeholders were ongoing after a brief suspension in the lead up to the national elections in December 2020. “We are optimistic that these discussions will result in a positive outcome for MTN Ghana and the long-term sustainability of Ghana telecommunications industry. “We remain grateful to the NCA, the Ministry of Communications and key stakeholders for their commitment to engage with the view to resolve the issues amicably,” he said. The business reported a profit after tax of GHC1.4 billion which represents a 38.4% increase year on year. Shareholders approved a final dividend of five pesewas per share, bringing the total dividend for the 2020 year to eight pesewas per share. This represents 70.5% of profit after tax and a 33.3% increase in dividend per share over 2019. GNA Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana) will host shareholders at a virtual meeting via www.mtnghagm.com from 11:00am on Tuesday May 25, 2021. The meeting, which is the company’s third Annual General Meeting (AGM) since going public, will be streamed live from the company’s head office at MTN House, Independence Avenue. The meeting will enable shareholders to discuss the audited financial statements together with the reports of the Directors and Auditors, appoint and fix remuneration of auditors and approve the payment of directors fee for the year ended 31st December 2020. The final dividend for the year ended 31st December 2020 as recommended by the directors will be reviewed and approved by shareholders. There will also be the re-election and appointment of retiring and new Directors of the company, respectively. Shareholders will also be expected to authorize the amendment of the Constitution of the company to increase the maximum number of directors from ten (10) to twelve (12). Shareholders with smart devices can participate in the virtual meeting via www.mtnghagm.com from 11:00am whilst shareholders who do not have smart devices may participate in the AGM by following these steps; (i) dialing +233244300025; (ii) entering the access code 8000; and (iii) entering the conference pin number 056789. Invitations to the meeting have been sent to all shareholders via sms and emails with their unique token numbers. Registration for the AGM will start at 8:00am, however the AGM will commence at 11am. A shareholder may appoint a proxy to attend virtually and vote on their behalf. Such a proxy need not be a shareholder of the company. A copy of the Proxy Form may be downloaded from www.mtnghagm.com completed, signed and sent via email only to info@csd.com.gh. In order for shareholders to review the 2020 audited financial statements before the AGM, a copy has been uploaded online and can be found in the Annual Report Brochure section of the AGM portal (www.mtnghagm.com). Voting during the AGM will be done electronically via the portal or by dialing USSD code *899*0# for non-smart phone users. Furthermore, shareholders who do not submit a proxy prior to the meeting, may vote using their unique token number. Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana) held its first AGM in May 2019 after it listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) on 5 September 2018. It remains the company with the largest number of Ghanaian shareholders following its Initial Public Offering (IPO) which raised GHS 1,146,589,464.75 from 128,152 applicants. The IPO of MTN Ghana made history as the largest primary share offer in the history of the GSE. Most importantly, it enabled many Ghanaians to own shares in one of Ghana’s largest, most visible and well-respected companies. For more information on the MTN Virtual AGM, shareholders may contact info@csd.com.gh or call 0545823198,0545822865 or 0545822920. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

The Group President and CEO of MTN, Ralph Mupita has saluted the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) for its role in the ‘Ghana Cares’ national socio-economic priorities that is going to be critical for Ghana’s development going forward. “We are encouraged by the progress we have seen in the development and deepening of the capital markets in Ghana”, Mr Mupita said. He noted that “capital formation and capital markets are critical in economic development of countries. We salute the ‘Ghana Cares’ national socio-economic priorities that is going to be critical to Ghana’s development going forward”. He made the remarks on Tuesday 18 May 2021 when he visited the GSE to pay a courtesy call on the Managing Director, Mr. Ekow Afedzi, as part of a three-day working visit to one of MTN Group’s key markets. He also used the opportunity to get a first-hand account of the performance of Scancom Plc (MTN Ghana) shares since the Initial Public Offer (IPO) in 2018. Mr. Mupita was grateful for the support MTN Ghana had received since its listing on the bourse. “On behalf of the MTN Group we would like to thank the GSE for the support we have received since listing in September 2018”, he said. MTN Ghana’s performance on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 2021 has been nothing short of excellence, accounting for 86% and 77% of total volume and value traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange as at 18 May 2021. The company’s share price has gained 49 pesewas this year representing a year to date return of 76.6%. The MD of the GSE, Mr. Ekow Afedzi applauded MTN Ghana’s stellar performance. He commended the company for being the most liquid and driver of liquidity on the market. MTN Ghana listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 2018 and is the third largest company by market capitalization. This represents about 23% of the total market capitalization of the listings on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The MTN Group CEO was accompanied on his visit to the GSE by the VP for MTN WECA Region, Mr Ebenezer Asante, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Mr Sam Addo representing Selorm Adadevoh Chief Executive Officer, and the Chief Corporate Services Officer, Mr Samuel Koranteng. About MTN Ghana MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay as You Go Services and Mobile Financial Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghana’s telecommunications market. Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

MTN Ghana has announced an adjustment of its tariffs following the introduction of the 1%  Covid-19 Health recovery levy. The new levy takes effect from 1st May, 2021. Tariffs for all voice calls, data and SMS have been amended to reflect the new requirement. The adjustment will also be made across all services and platforms this includes Mobile bundle purchases and Usage, Fiber to the Home/Business , air time and bundle purchase through 3rd party Apps, Sunday special, Just4U, Jaara, VAS services, Roaming, IDD, reloads through voucher, EVD (Electronic Prepaid), MoMo and Postpaid. Commenting on the tariff adjustment, the Chief Corporate Services Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Mr. Samuel Koranteng said, “we are implementing this marginal adjustment in our tariffs to comply with the new law”. Customers can find out more details of the new tariff plan on our website  www.mtn.com.gh and in selected newspapers. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

MTN Ghana’s operational performance in the first quarter was anchored on its execution of various ‘Ambition 2025’ initiatives in data, MoMo and digital services. Amid accelerated digitalisation, MTN has committed to spend $149 million in total capex in the year to meet the demand of digital services and help maintain the quality and availability of service for our data and Mobile Money customers. As part of MTN’s network expansion plan, the company rolled out 36 2G, 36 3G, 36 4G sites and modernized 223 existing sites to 4G sites in the quarter. This investment helped support 64.0% growth in data traffic and reach a total of 2,160 4G sites nationwide resulting in an increase in our 4G population coverage from 71.7% to 76.1%. Performance in the first quarter of 2021 was influenced by the protracted impact of the pandemic.  As a result of this MTN Ghana carried on with its work to support lives through its Y’ello Hope initiatives. Key amongst these initiatives is that as at April 5, 2021, MTN had delivered 356,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to support the Ghana Government’s efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.  This is part of the commitment made by MTN Group to provide US$25 million to support the African Union’s COVID-19 vaccination programme and help secure up to seven million doses of the vaccine for health workers across the continent. Operational review MTN’s subscriber base grew by 0.6 million to 25.0 million, as the company improved its network and customer experience. Continued demand for data and increased adoption of more digital payment services supported the company’s active data* subscribers’ growth of 0.4 million to reach 11.2 million and MoMo users growth of 0.1 million to reach 10.7 million. The number of MoMo merchants expanded by 11,000 to 183,000 and our agent network by 15,000 to 221,000. MTN also improved on its ayoba offerings with enhancements including payment integration and new business-to-customer channels. Additionally, MTN enhanced self-service offerings on myMTN app, introducing MoMo and mobile broadband channels to the app to improve the feature set and customer experience. Commenting on the quarterly results, the CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh said, MTN remains committed to providing support to combat COVID-19. As we progress through 2021, we will remain focused on supporting our people, our customers and Government, while ensuring network resilience as this is critical to the continued recovery of the economy. Update on localisation of Scancom PLC and MobileMoney Limited MTN continues to work with the Government of Ghana and key regulatory stakeholders to achieve all agreed localisation requirements. MTN Group remains committed to sell a further 8.1% of its investment in Scancom PLC to achieve 25% localisation. MTN Ghana’s 25th anniversary This year marks MTN Ghana’s 25th anniversary, a significant milestone in our journey to provide vital telecommunication and digital services in Ghana. We have committed to contribute the equivalent of $25 million (or GH¢150 million) over three years to a fund supporting Ghana’s post-COVID-19 recovery efforts. It is our belief that this will go a long way to support digital ecosystem projects as part of government’s long-term transformation agenda. We will share more details as discussions progress. Outlook The company believes that the remainder of 2021 will be shaped by the extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. MTN Ghana remains committed to supporting government’s ambition of a digital Ghana and we have designated 2021 as the ‘Year of the customer: the digital experience’. We are excited about the opportunity to be part of the Ghana digital journey as we play our part through the many digital services. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093