Ghana’s government announced that 20 per cent of Ghana Telecom’s (GT) shares, originally sold to Vodafone as part of a US$900 million deal, will now be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange instead, a Ghanaian newspaper reported.

Ghana Telecom is the incumbent operator providing fixed-line, mobile and Internet services. 

The government and Vodafone had reached an agreement last week for the sale of 70 per cent of GT to the UK cellco, with the government retaining a 30 per cent stake, but the contract faced opposition from minority parties over the exclusion of outside bidders.

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Oman’s ministry of finance has today announced that bidders interested in bidding for a 25 per cent stake in state telco Omantel will need to submit expressions of interest by July 18.

The sale will reduce the government’s shareholding to 45 per cent.

The partial sale of the Omani incumbent, 100 per cent of which is valued at US$4.4 billion (as of July 2, 2008), is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of this year.

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Libya surpassed the 100 per cent mobile penetration rate at the end of March 2008 to become the first mainland African nation to reach the mark, according to a report by The Mobile World.

Libya was one of four nations in Middle East and Africa to reach 100 per cent mobile penetration for the first time in Q108.
Image: Luca Galuzzi

Three other markets reached the milestone for the first time in the same quarter – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Reunion – the latter a small island nation in the Indian Ocean beyond Madagascar.

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Etisalat has signed a memorandum of understanding with France Telecom (FT), signalling their intention to collaborate in areas of strategic importance for both companies.

Etisalat chairman, Omran is keen to leverage the telco’s relationship with FT on a number of fronts, including broadband and film content

Signed in Paris on July 2 by Etisalat’s chairman Mohammad Omran, and France Telecom’s chairman and CEO, Didier Lombard, the agreement outlines a number of key areas of collaboration. These include home networking solutions and multiplay services; content acquisition and distribution; joint investment in co production of films; international roaming; and joint investment in submarines cables.

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Vodafone looks set to secure a deal for a majority stake in Ghana Telecom (GT) for US$960 million this week, following ongoing talks with the Ghanaian government over its fixed-line, mobile and Internet services company.

Ghana Telecom has an estimated 1.3 million mobile subscribers and a 15.5 per cent market share.
Image: Ferdinand Reus

Communications minister Benjamin Aggrey Ntim told local newspapers that a new owner of GT would be announced in the first week of July, adding that Vodafone was the only firm left negotiating with government.

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