TheCable

MTN Group, South African telecommunications company, says US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the nuclear accord with Iran may make it difficult to repatriate funds from the country.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the company said this may cause its share price to plummet.

Trump had announced on Tuesday that the US would reintroduce economic sanctions on Iran, which were lifted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement.

“We cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement,” Trump said.

“We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction and we will not allow a regime that chants ‘Death to America’ to gain access to the most deadly weapons on earth.”

The company said this decision will “limit the ability of MTN Group to repatriate cash, both dividends and loans, from MTN Irancell”.

“We will continue to monitor the situation including the response of the Iranian authorities and the other JCPOA members.”

In 2018, MTN Group has repatriated €88 million from MTN Irancell including the €61 million relating to the full 2017 dividend due to MTN and another €27 million of historic dividends.

The remaining balance due to MTN is approximately €200 million.

MTN said it remains committed to its investment in Irancell and to repatriating the balance of legacy cash in Iran whilst remaining compliant with appropriate legislation.

In its recently released first quarter financial results, the company reported increased subscription to its services.