Axiata Group (formerly known as TM International) has entered into a collaboration agreement with Dubai-based MVNO, Friendi Group, with the intention of working together to address the communications needs of expatriates working in the markets Axiata and Friendi operate in.

Amongst the areas of cooperation to be explored is the possibility of setting up co-branding and MVNO relationships between the two groups. The terms of the agreement will also look at the provision of content and services.

“Axiata with its pan Asian footprint has a presence in all the targeted countries. The agreement will allow subscribers to reap the benefits of discounted call rates and value added services such as mobile money transfer, remote recharge and content from home,” commented Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, president and group CEO of Axiata.

The agreement will also have the added benefit of allowing Axiata access to the lucrative Middle East market. Axiata operating companies will be able to reach out and capture the market and do business with their own nationals living overseas.

“Signing the collaboration agreement is a mutually beneficial strategic step for both Axiata and Friendi as it will provide the latter preferred partner status with the Axiata subsidiaries across Asia, as well as enable the Axiata mobile operating companies a unique opportunity to engage millions of their nationals that live and work in the geographical region of Friendi”.

The first concrete outcome of the agreement is a linkup between Axiata’s affiliate in India, Idea Cellular, and the local Friendi operation in Oman to provide the customers in Oman and India better and more affordable communication services.

Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies, focused in high growth low penetration emerging markets. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India, Singapore and Iran.

South Africa’s telecoms regulator and trade unions have threatened Vodafone’s bid to purchase an additional 15 per cent in mobile operator Vodacom, after the UK operator was forced to face the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU) in court on May 17, just one day before Vodacom was due to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Vodafone’s takeover of Vodacom may face a bumpy landing

The legal action came as the regulator did a u-turn on May 15 over its initial green light of the ZAR22.5 billion (US$2.2 billion) deal announced in November, which would allow Vodafone to raise its stake in Vodacom to a controlling 65 per cent, up from its original 50/50 share with state-owned fixed-line operator Telkom.

Vodafone’s investment has faced opposition from COSATU and the South African Communist Party, which said the acquisition would threaten jobs and surrender control to a foreign investor. However the High Court in Pretoria dismissed the oppositions’ application and stated the stock exchange listing of Vodacom would go ahead as planned. The unions have urged a public boycott of Vodacom.

The original agreement was subject to approval by 75 per cent of shareholders from Telkom, as well as being conditional upon Vodacom being listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the remaining 35 per cent of Vodacom Group being demerged by Telkom to its shareholders.

South Africa’s MTN reached the 100 million subscriber milestone in April, becoming the largest emerging markets telecoms operator in the world by subscriber base. MTN’s network covers 21 markets with a population of approximately 500 million.

The largest share of subscribers came from the West and Central Africa region accounting for 45 per cent, while Middle East and North Africa contributed 29 per cent and South and East Africa amounted to 26 per cent. The operator’s biggest market remains Nigeria with almost 26 million subscribers, followed by Iran with more than 18 million.

“For a 15-year-old company operating amid increased competitive intensity in all its markets, this is a most satisfactory performance by MTN. This affirms our leadership position in many areas of our business,” stated MTN group president and CEO Phuthuma Nhleko.

“MTN’s success is also attributable to a business model that has included sound financial investment, strong corporate governance, effective management and corporate social responsibility,” he added.

However, while subscriber numbers in the first quarter of 2009 were up eight per cent from Q408, the operator’s average revenue per user (ARPU) took a battering in every market with year-to-date ARPUs falling by an average of 18.6 per cent between end-December 2008 and end-March 2009. The most impacted market was Zambia where ARPU slumped 41 per cent from US$11 to US$6. Next were Congo Brazzaville and Rwanda which both declined by 33 per cent.

MTN’s highest ARPU market was Cyprus with US$36, while Sudan and Afghanistan resided at the other end of the scale with US$5 each.

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Global quarterly handset shipments slumped by 15.8 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009, from 290.8 million units to 244.8 million, according to global IT research firm IDC. However, the smartphone market grew by four per cent over this period, largely driven by demand in Western Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region, and as more operators subsidised high-end handsets in a bid to fuel data revenues.

Market leader Nokia saw its shipments drop to less that 100 million in a first quarter period for the first time in two years

“Some operators in mature markets have shifted product portfolios, and some have smartphones accounting for as much as 50 per cent of the entire handset offering,” stated Ryan Reith, senior research analyst at IDC’s Mobile Phone Tracker. “We believe this strategy will continue, along with an increase in devices that are media and messaging centric, to help operators’ revenues.”

Nokia saw its volumes drop below 100 million units for the first time in two years, a decrease of almost 20 per cent from a year earlier; however it was Motorola and Sony Ericsson that were the hardest hit with their shipments diving by 46.4 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.

IDC attributes Sony Ericsson’s contracting market due to several key markets moving away from mid- and high-tier devices towards low-cost models, where the manufacturer does not currently compete.

Joss Gillett, senior analyst at Wireless Intelligence noted that handset vendors are streamlining their device portfolios to focus on high-end consumer segments to generate higher margins, and on lower-tier devices to maintain volumes and market share. Operating margins have also been negatively impacted by a high-level of product inventories, strong price competition, and a decline in the average selling price (ASP).

“We estimate that the average operating margin at the top five vendors – Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG – declined to around four per cent in Q109, down from an average of 13 per cent a year ago,” a Wireless Intelligence report stated.

South Asia are predicted to decline by 50 per cent from current levels to 2013, forecasts a study by global consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

The study showed that while these regions are expected to contribute 44 per cent of new mobile subscriptions through to 2012, increasing competition, price reductions, and a second wave of low-income customers will drive average revenue per user (ARPU) levels from US$12 in sub-Saharan Africa down to US$6, and in India and neighbouring countries from US$6 to US$3.

Operators in sub-Saharan Africa face a number of challenges, including comparatively high per-minute prices, high rates of illiteracy, and several countries with small populations

Obviously, adding more subscribers will generate further economies of scale. But scale alone will not be sufficient to sustain profitability and master the low-ARPU challenge,” said Joerg Hildebrandt, partner at Oliver Wyman in Dubai.

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