MTN SUBSCRIBERS UP BY 7% IN Q1, BUOYED BY NIGERIA, IRAN'S MARKET

CEO, MTN Nigeria, Mr A. Farroukh
South Africa's MTN, which is currently in talks to buy Egypt's Orascom Telecom, boosted subscribers by nearly seven per cent in the January-March first quarter.

Buoyed by strong growth in major markets such as Nigeria and Iran, MTN said it added 7.6 million subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total users to 123.6 million as of end-March.

Its South African unit showed little growth, however, increasing by just 2.2 percent to 16.4 million subscribers.

'I think what one has to accept is that the local market is saturated and that's why they are looking for opportunities,' Reuters quoted Abri du Plessis, Chief Investment Officer at Cape Town-based Gryphon Asset Management.