Olamilekan Okeowo with Agency Report
A meeting between the officials of Etisalat Nigeria, Nigerian Communications Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria and a consortium of banks is ongoing to find a resolution to the debt crisis troubling the telecoms company.
The three parties are also expected to issue a joint statement on the matter at the end of the meeting.
Earlier, the Etisalat Group, the parent company of Etisalat Nigeria, informed the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange that a group of Nigerian commercial banks refused to agree to the restructuring of the debt (which amounts to 541 billion naira) owed by the company.
The telecoms group said in a statement that its total shares in Etisalat Nigeria have been transferred to United Capital Trustees Limited.
The deadline for the transfer of the shares has been agreed to extend till 5:00 pm Nigerian time on Friday, June 23.
Abu-Dhabi based Etisalat group established Etisalat Nigeria with effective 45 per cent and 25 per cent ordinary and preference shares respectively.
Reuters quoted an official of Etisalat Nigeria as saying that discussions with the group of Nigerian commercial lenders are ongoing to find a “no-disruptive” solution to the debt.
