South Africa's MTN expects IPO of Nigerian business this year

South Africa's MTN aims to list its Nigerian unit in an initial public offering this year, subject to market conditions, group chief executive Rob Shuter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Shuter said plans were well advanced and the company would provide exact terms of the IPO in the next few months.

He was speaking in Lagos after MTN signed an agreement with Ecobank to form a partnership on mobile banking across Africa.

"We are well advanced with the Nigerian listing. If market conditions are appropriate we should conclude it this year," Shuter said.

He added the South African telecoms group was targeting 60 million customers via mobile services over the next three years, up from 23 million now across the 14 markets where it has launched the product.

MTN and Ecobank's agreement on a mobile banking partnership came on the heels of an announcement by Kenya's three top telecom companies on Friday to offer cross-network money transfers by mobile phone. - Reuters