The Algerian government is willing to buy Orascom’s Algerian operation ‘Djezzy’, the Telecommunications Minister Hamid Bessalah confirmed today. No comment was made regarding what size equity the government might hope to acquire.

The announcement follows reports the government could block the sale of Djezzy to South Africa’s MTN, through a law which gives the government first right of refusal to a party wishing to buy a majority stake in the operator.

Orascom confirmed on April 28 it was in talks with MTN over the sale of Djezzy or possibly the entire Cairo-based group. The following day the government stated it was opposed to the sale of the Algerian unit, which it is now considering to snap up for its self. Orascom’s chairman Naguib Sawiris has requested talks with the authorities in this regard.

If the Algerian government should take control of Djezzy and not leave an attractive share for MTN, it is unlikely that a takeover bid by MTN of Orascom would go ahead. Djezzy is the most profitable operation in the Egyptian operator’s portfolio and without it, the acquisition of remaining assets are not as appealing.

The Algerian unit contributed almost 37 per cent to Orascom’s group revenues in 2009. The other operations are based in Egypt, Tunisia, North Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Burundi, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Taking into consideration Orascom’s debt, the group has been valued by analysts to have an enterprise value of between US$11-12.6 million.

Qtel has concluded an agreement with Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Middle East’s first privately owned submarine cable operator, which will see Qtel provide a landing station for GBI’s cable in Qatar. This follows an announcement on February 7 that Vodafone Qatar would provide a landing station for the GBI submarine cable.

"The superior capacity provided by this new partnership is a big step towards realising our vision to make Qatar one of the best connected countries in the world," commented Qtel’s CEO Nasser Marafih at the signing of the deal.

The GBI Cable System will connect all the countries of the Gulf region to each other and provide onward connectivity to Europe and Asia. Scheduled to launch in 2011 and designed to operate for up to 25 years, the system has a design capacity of up to five terabits per second on certain cable sections, providing the capability to meet the rapid growth in demand that has been forecast for traffic originating and terminating in the Gulf.

The other operators who have inked similar agreements to provide landing stations for the cable system other than Vodafone Qatar are Bahrain’s Batelco, Saudi Arabia’s STC and the UAE’s Du.

South Africa’s MTN Group has recorded a consolidated subscriber base of 123.58 million throughout its footprint of 21 markets for the quarter ending March 31, 2010. This is seven per cent higher than the 116.025 million posted the previous quarter ending December 2009.

The South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 22 per cent of the group’s total subscribers while West and Central Africa (WECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) contributed 46 per cent and 32 per cent respectively.

The SEA region increased its subscriber base by four per cent during the period. The South African operation contributes 60 per cent to the region’s subscribers, increasing by 2.2 per cent or 358,000 customers to 16,424,000. Uganda increased its subscriber base by eight per cent to 5,615,000 despite aggressive competition. Meanwhile Rwanda and Zambia both witnessed a growth of 11 per cent during the quarter, reaching 2,050,000 and 1,293,000 respectively.

The WECA region increased its subscriber base by seven per cent for the quarter, primarily due to growth in Nigeria which contributed 59 per cent to the region’s subscribers. Nigeria recorded an eight per cent increase in its subscriber base to 33,301,000 as network quality and the continued success of the distribution framework allowed for a competitive advantage. Guinea Conakry increased its subscribers 15 per cent to 1,467,000, while Guinea Bissau saw 10 per cent growth to reach 453,000.

The MENA region grew eight per cent, mainly due to the Iran operation which contributed 64 per cent to the region’s subscribers and increased its subscribers by nine per cent to 25,386,000. Syria increased its subscribers marginally by one per cent to 4,297,000.

MTN South Africa’s blended average revenue per user (ARPU) increased by seven per cent to R155 (US$21). Nigeria and Ghana’s ARPU declined each by 10 per cent to US$11 and US$7, attributed to increased penetration into lower market segments and seasonal trends. Iran’s ARPU remained relatively stable at US$8.

Wateen Telecom, the Abu Dhabi Group’s subsidiary in Pakistan, has announced its initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed. The operator offered 110 million shares on April 20 and 21 at a value of PKR 10 (US$0.12) each, with the added Greenshoe option for a further 90 million shares.

The company’s IPO was the largest undertaken in Pakistan in recent years and performed well above expectations.

Wateen provides fixed and wireless services through its 10,000 kilometres of optic-fiber and international gateways. It has the largest deployment of WiMAX broadband in Pakistan, covering 22 cities with a subscriber base of 160,000.

Algeria has said it will block a proposed deal in which South Africa’s MTN Group would acquire the Algerian assets of Orascom Telecom Holdings.

“The government is opposed to the planned deal between MTN and Orascom with regard to the company OTA [Orascom Telecom Algerie],” said a statement from the Algerian telecommunications ministry.

The ministry warned that “any transaction concerning OTA will be null . . . and could lead to the withdrawal of the . . . licence granted to the company”.

The ministry said Algeria had decided to exercise its “right of pre-emption to the entire capital of this company”, and said that any attempt to circumvent its decision could lead to “expropriating the current OTA shareholders”.

OTH has confirmed that it is in negotiations with MTN and that the talks.

Orascom’s Algerian operation has been the biggest earner for the group, accounting last year for more than half of its EBITDA from its telecoms operations. Total EBITDA amounted to was US$2.24 billion of which Algeria contributed US$1.07 billion.

MTN is understood to be interested in OTH’s other African assets, though Algeria had stood out as the South African operator’s primary target.