Ethiopia’s monopoly state-owned telco, Ethio Telecom has terminated its two-year management agreement with France Telecom, as the contract expired as agreed.

Following the conclusion of the management contract, Ethiopian managers of Ethio Telecom have taken over the management positions.

However, the companies have signed a one-year support framework agreement which will be managed by the telco’s own management. The major areas of the partnership with France Telecom include expertise in key areas and management consultancy, as well as FT Orange Partnership.

Through the partnership France Telecom will also support Ethio Telecom in areas such as in network design, architecture, technology selection negotiation and related technical areas.

Ethio Telecom recently confirmed that it is close to signing a network expansion contract which would also see the deployment of LTE services in the capital city, Addis Ababa.

Iraq’s Asiacell has set the price for its delayed stock market listing and expects to raise US$1.35 billion from the sale of 25 per cent of its shares on the Baghdad stock market.

The stock market floatation is a condition of its operating licence, and the company’s two rivals, Zain and Korek are also late in their listings. They were supposed to have offered shares to the public in late 2011.

However, there are concerns that a US$1.35 billion floatation may be difficult for the local stock market to absorb, as its total capitalisation currently stands at around US$4 billion. With the other two networks also required to list shares, the stock market will be dominated by the telecom companies.

Asiacell’s share offering opens today and closes on February 2 with trading due to start on the following day.

Qtel Group currently owns a 54 per cent stake in the Iraqi mobile network.

Etisalat is reported to have turned down an offer from the Pakistan government to resolve a dispute over property transfers dating back to its 2006 investment in Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

Etisalat offered US$2.6 billion for a 26 per cent stake in PCTL in 2006 in staggered payments, but has withheld US$800 million in a dispute over the transfer of assets from the government to the telecoms operator.

Of the 3,248 properties that were to be transferred to PTCL as part of the privatisation agreement, some 131 are still held by the government.

It was reported last week that the company had rejected a government proposal to cancel the transfer in exchange for lowering the outstanding amount.

It is reported that Eitsalat has refused to accept the proposal on the grounds that the value of the outstanding properties is quite high and they should be handed over.

Long standing plans by Etisalat to increase its holding to a controlling 51 per cent have been on hold until the dispute is settled.

Qatar Telecom has acquired a further 15 per cent stake in Tunisiana for a total consideration of US$360 million. The stake was purchased from the Tunisian government.

Wataniya, a 92.1 per cent subsidiary of Qtel has a direct holding of 75 per cent in Tunisiana. Following completion of the transaction, Qtel and its subsidiaries’ total holding in Tunisiana will increase to 90 per cent. The Tunisian government will retain a 10 per cent holding in the cellco with a view to a public offering in the future.

Zimbabwe’s Telecel is coming under increasing pressure to comply with legislation that requires that at least 60 per cent of the shareholders are local residents.

Currently the company is 60 per cent-owned by Orascom Telecom Holdings, which is itself now a subsidiary of Russia’s VimpelCom.

The Russian company has been previously reported to be looking to sell three small African networks, in Burundi, the Central African Republic, and Zimbabwe.

The sale of the Zimbabwean stake could resolve the foreign shareholder compliance, but it also reduces the likely value of the company as the pool of potential buyers is reduced to just Zimbabwean investors.

Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act aims to transfer at least 51 per cent control of all foreign-owned firms, including mines and banks, to locals.

The remaining 40 per cent stake in Telecel is owned by a holding company controlled by president Robert Mugabe’s nephew, Leo Mugabe.