MTN still has appetite for acquisitions

South Africa’s MTN Group has revealed that it could spend up to US$8 billion on acquisitions and is currently looking for potential targets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The company is already shortlisted to bid for a licence in Myanmar.

The company’s CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa told the Reuters Africa Investment Summit that "growth through M&A is still an important part of our strategy," adding that deals in the region of US$4-8 billion is something the company could look at.

MTN Group currently has a market capitalisation of US$34 billion.

However, MTN Group is facing a multi-billion lawsuit over how it acquired its operating licence in Iran, and may have to sell up if US sanctions are intensified.

Etisalat Nigeria to raise US$500 million for network expansion

Etisalat Nigerian has confirmed plans to raise US$500 million in fresh debt financing from local banks to fund network expansion.

Citing the company’s chief commercial officer, Wael Ammar Reuters reported that the network investments are to support Etisalat Nigeria’s plans to add four million customers to its base this year – taking its total to close to 20 million by 2014.

"We are investing US$500 million this year to expand our network and services to Nigerian consumers," Ammar said, adding that Etisalat aims to increase its existing 3,000 cell sites by an undisclosed number.

Mobile penetration in Nigeria stands at approximately 60 per cent.

Ooredoo and MTN Group short-listed in Myanmar

The Myanmar government says that it has pre-qualified 12 companies to bid for the country’s two mobile operator licences.

The final stage of the licence award process will now start for the pre-qualified applicants.

The pre-qualified applicants will be required to submit their applications to the committee by June 3, 2013. The committee expects to announce, by June 27, 2013, the two applicants that will be granted nationwide telecommunications licences.

The licence details are still being worked out but are expected to be valid for between 10-20 years and will come with a minimum geographical coverage requirement.

The country currently has both GSM (900MHz, launched in 2002) and CDMA networks (800MHz and 450MHz launched in 1999 and 2008, respectively). In 2008, 3G (WCDMA 2100MHz) was also introduced.

According to the latest official data, as of the end of December 2012, Myanmar counted 5.44 million subscribers equivalent to nine per cent of the population. The twelve pre-qualified applicants are:

  • Airtel
  • Axiata Group
  • Digicel
  • France Telecom + Marubeni
  • KDDI + Sumitomo + Myanmar MICTDC + A1 Construction
  • Millicom
  • MTN Dubai + M1 Telecom + Amara Communications
  • Qatar Telecom (Ooredoo)
  • Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) + KBZ + Myanmar M-Tel
  • Telenor
  • Viettel Group
  • Vodafone + China Mobile

Zain Iraq IPO now expected to take place at the end of the year

Zain Group has said that its operation in Iraq would complete an IPO by the end of 2013, having originally predicted it would be undertaken by the middle of this year. The Iraq government required the country’s three cellcos to have listed by August 2011, but to date only Ooredoo-backed Asiacell has conformed.

The Zain Iraq IPO, which is being arranged by Citigroup, National Bank of Kuwait, and BNP Paribas, is expected to increase the Iraq Stock Exchange’s market capitalisation substantially.  The Iraqi bourse has been struggling to re-establish itself since 2004, when it re-opened following the US invasion.  Although the bourse went from 15 companies in 2004 to 86 in 2011, IPOs have slowed down, leading to the desire to see the country’s telecom providers listed.

The listing would reduce Zain Group’s stake in Zain Iraq from 76 per cent to 51 per cent. 

Managing the squeeze

BlackBerry said that it shipped one million devices powered by its BlackBerry 10 platform in its most recent quarter to March 2, as the recovering smartphone maker also reported a profit for the period. However, the numbers also showed many of the challenges still facing the companyPic 1

BlackBerry CEO, Thorsten Heins is excited about the new, dynamic culture at BlackBerry, where they are laser-focused on continuing to drive efficiency and improve the company’s profitability

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