MTN shares down 2%.

Shares of MTN Group , Africa’s largest cellphone operator, dropped over 2% on Wednesday with investors fretting that the economic impact of US sanctions on Iran could have a negative effect on the mobile firm’s business there.

The $33,8bn company is a major player in Iran, where it has over 32-million subscribers and makes nearly 10% of its revenue.

"I would think it has to do with the investment in Iran and the possibility of US sanctions on companies that invest in Iran. I think that’s the problem," says Lindsay Roots, a Cape Town-based investment analyst at BoE Stockbrokers.

US President Barack Obama signed new sanctions into law on New Year’s Eve that appear to be having an impact on Iran’s ability to find buyers for its oil at global prices. China, the largest buyer by far of Iranian oil, has cut its purchases for January by more than half from 2011 levels.

On Tuesday, queues formed at Tehran banks and some currency exchange offices shut their doors as Iranians scrambled to buy dollars to protect their savings.

World oil prices jumped more than 4%.

MTN shares are down 2,17% at R140,80, after falling as much as 2,7% in earlier trade.

Credits: Business Day/David Dolan

This article was originally posted on Africa ICT & Telecom Network

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