The Johannesburg Stock
Exchange launched Friday an investigation into mobile giant MTN for
"possible insider trading" before the South African company announced
it had been hit by a US$5.2 billion fine in Nigeria. The Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) fined Africa's largest telecoms firm for
missing a deadline to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards.
News
of the fine broke Monday morning in Nigeria, sparking a sell-off of MTN shares
before the company formally notified shareholders later in the day.
"The
market regulation team is looking into trades that took place before the
announcement in order to determine if there is any evidence of possible insider
trading," Peter Redman, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) market
regulation advisor, said in a statement.
South
African law dictates that companies are to immediately warn shareholders about
price-sensitive information.
