The interim government of Tunisia is reported by French news media to have taken over the 51 per cent of Orange Tunisia that was owned by the son-in-law of the country’s former president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The move had been expected for some time as part of a post-revolution investigation into favours offered to the family of the former president.

The French newspaper, Les Echos noted that the move would mean the government now has control of the mobile network, which is 49 per cent owned by France Telecom.

France Telecom told Les Echos that "nothing changes on the operational level and that for Orange Tunisia, it is business as usual."

The Tunisian government has set up a commission to decide what to do with of Ben Ali’s confiscated assets – and those of his family and friends.

It is expected that the government will sell the stake to a trade buyer or possibly float it on the stock market. A trade sale could be complicated though, as France Telecom is blocked from taking control of the company until 2014 under the terms of its licence.

Orascom Telecom Holdings is looking to reduce its stake in the Zimbabwean mobile network, Telecel Zimbabwe to 49 per cent from 60 per cent and has entered into talks with Zimbabwe’s government about the sale.

The sale is to comply with the country’s restrictions on foreign ownership of businesses that limits them to a non-controlling stake. 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.

Although the law was passed three years ago, the current government announced last week that it will give companies 45 days to submit plans to explain how they will comply with the law. Any such plans will have to be implemented within six months.

Telecel Zimbabwe is the country’s second largest mobile-phone operator with 1.8 million subscribers, and is currently 40 per cent owned by a holding company controlled by president Robert Mugabe’s nephew, Leo Mugabe.

Etisalat is reported to have lost interest in bidding for the third mobile licence in Syria. The telco said the terms and conditions were not suitable for the operator "to achieve its objectives" in terms of technology and the value it could bring to the market.

A report from Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) stated that Etisalat was unhappy with the Syrian government’s demand that the winning bidder pay a 25 per cent revenue share.

Ahmed bin Ali, senior vice president for corporate communications, Etisalat Group, said: "We worked hard on this opportunity especially due to the close relations with our sister country Syria, but we hoped that the terms and conditions for the licence would have been more attractive."

The auction for the third mobile licence is set to begin in April with a minimum reserve price of US$122 million.

Other operators qualified to bid are Qatar Telecom, France Telecom, Saudi Telecom and Turkcell.

Syria’s mobile market is currently dominated by Syriatel and MTN Syria, which both operate under build, operate and transfer licences.

India’s Idea Cellular is considering the sale of its portfolio of 7,500 towers that are not part of its tower owning joint-venture with Bharti Infratel and Vodafone Essar. The sale of the towers could be worth up to US$1 billion.

At the end of 2007, Vodafone Essar, Bharti Infratel and Idea Cellular merged most of their tower assets into a single holding company, Indus Towers – which now has around 70,000 towers under management. Vodafone Essar and Bharti own approximately 42 per cent each and Idea owns the remaining 16 per cent stake. However, each of the companies kept a portion of their towers outside the holding company.

"We have a portfolio of 7,500 towers that are outside Indus Towers. This portfolio covers some of our leading markets with significant value residing in them. But we also see it as a strategic opportunity and not just a value unlocking option," Himanshu Kapania, the designated chief executive of Idea Cellular told the Times of India.

Banking sources noted though that Idea Cellular will only sell its towers to an investor who has no strategic interest in towers.

Qtel’s annual general meeting has approved the recommendation of the board of directors to distribute a cash dividend of 50 per cent of the nominal share value (QAR 5.0 per share (US$1.37)) and bonus shares of 20 per cent of share capital (one share for every five shares).

The Qtel Group delivered a number of key strategic initiatives in 2010 that position the company for growth in 2011. Among the initiatives, the roll-out of a nationwide fibre network for high-speed Internet, achieved key project milestones, and is set for commercial launch in 2011. The company also signed, via Wataniya Telecom, an agreement to acquire another 25 per cent shareholding in Tunisiana raising its stake to 75 per cent.

Reflecting the company’s ongoing growth, earnings per share (EPS) has grown from QAR 11.90 in 2005 to QAR 19.69 in 2011

In the twelve months to end-December 2010, Qtel maintained solid operational and financial progress. It saw robust full-year group revenue performance, with revenue increasing by 13.1 per cent year-on-year to QAR 27.2 billion.

In the same period, net profit attributable to Qtel shareholders also grew 2.2 per cent to QAR 2.9 billion and at the end of the year, the group’s consolidated customer base stood at 74.1 million. EBITDA performance in 2010 was also strong, increasing 11 per cent over the year to QAR 12.5 billion