NBS Report: Telecom Industry’s Contribution to Nigeria’s GDP Declined by 3.21% in Q3 2019

The recent report from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown that the contribution of the telecom industry to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has decreased in the last Quarter.

According to the NBS figures, the industry’s contribution dropped by 3.21% from 14.55% contributed in Q2 to 11.34% in Q3 of 2019.

However, the contribution was 0.79% higher when compared with 10.55% contributed to the country’s GDP last year.

This could be due to the fact that some of the tussles between the regulatory agency and telecoms operators have been resolved. Earlier, in the year MTN paid the N330 million fine sanction it by NCC and also listed on the NSE to settle its spat with the agency.

Also, 9mobile seems to be back with its acquisition by Teleology holdings and the subsequent $230M loan raised for stability and growth, the company could have had an effect on the GDP contribution rise. A recent NCC report shows them having the highest number of porting subscribers.

Interestingly, despite the decrease in sectors GDP contribution in Q3, the NS report shows a growth rate of the sector rose to 9.88%.

The NCC stats for July revealed that 773,449 new subscribers were added to the broadband which now brings Nigeria’s teledensity to about 92% and the current broadband penetration rate at about 33.72%.

However, the 9.88% growth recorded is 2.21% lower than the rate from the same quarter last year and also alarmingly 14.89% lower than the quarter on quarter growth rate.

The report showed that the declined started in Q4 2018 and the recent growth is the first in two quarters.