Fitch: Limited risk for IHS from Etisalat Nigeria’s difficulties

 
FITCH Ratings says that IHS Netherlands Holdco BV (IHS, B+/Negative) faces limited risks to its operations in Nigeria following recent press reports that Etisalat Nigeria, a key customer of IHS, had missed a debt payment.
We believe IHS may experience delays in collecting payments from Etisalat Nigeria over the short term, but medium-term prospects should remain broadly intact. Should Etisalat Nigeria go into bankruptcy proceedings, we believe its creditors would want to maximise recovery prospects by continuing normal mobile network operations, which include payments to IHS for use of its tower infrastructure.
This level of risk to IHS is reflected in its ‘B+’/Negative rating. We will monitor this situation as it evolves.
Etisalat Nigeria had 20.7 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2016 and is an affiliate of Emirates Telecommunications Group (A+/Stable), which has 25 percent of the voting rights and an economic interest of 45 percent.