MTN Rwanda CEO transferred to Ghana

MTN Rwanda declined to comment on the matter. Contacted by The New Times earlier Tuesday, MTN Rwanda public relations officer Teta Mpyisi could neither confirm nor deny the reports.

Reports also indicate that a Rwandan national would replace Asante at MTN Rwanda, with sources saying the changes are part of MTN Group's reshuffle of its top executives .

Asante took over from Khaled Mikkawi as MTN Rwanda CEO in October 2013. He has since steered the firm's subscriber base from over 3.5 million customers in December 2013, to over 3.88 million customers as of March this year, according to statistics from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority.

Asante previously worked for MTN Ghana as a sales and distribution executive and helped to more than double its customer base to 9.9 million in the five years through 2013, according to the company's website.

The Ghanaian telecom now has about 14.2 million subscribers. The move comes at a time when Crystal Telecom, a subsidiary of Crystal Ventures, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) for its 20 per cent stake in MTN.

Crystal Telecom, a subsidiary of Crystal Ventures announced last month that it would list the telecom's shares at the Rwanda Stock Exchange this quarter. MTN Rwanda is the largest telecom firm in the country in terms of subscriber base.