Vodafone Egypt invests over US$1 billion in capex

Vodafone Egypt has scheduled a three-year investment programme of EGP9.5 billion (US$1.25 billion), with investments set to cover purchasing new equipment, modernising base stations and extending coverage, Vodafone Egypt CEO Ahmed Essam told Reuters.

Vodafone is a 55 per cent shareholder in the number one mobile player, which is threatened with new competition from Telecom Egypt.

The fixed incumbent has opted to sell its stake in Vodafone Egypt and go it alone, using one of the country’s unified licences, currently being finalised. Existing players in the mobile market are Mobinil and Etisalat, along with Vodafone.

The aim is to sell the Vodafone stake by the end of 2015. To this end, Telecom Egypt is mulling which of two sets of bankers will handle the sale, said Bloomberg.

Annual investments will represent “more than 30 per cent of annual revenues,” said Essam.

“By end of this fiscal year in March, we would have spent more than EGP3 billion, which equals one third of the allocated investments and also more than 30 per cent of our yearly revenues in Egypt,” he said.