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Orascom Telecom Business News

Zambian Development Agency (ZDA) Shortlists Eight for Zamtel Stake Sale

Oct 29

Posted by Staff Writer in News | Post Comment

ZamtelThe Zambian Development Agency (ZDA) has revealed that it has shortlisted eight companies interested in acquiring a stake in fixed line monopoly operator Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel).

Those operators understood to have made the shortlist include South Africa’s Telkom, Indian state-owned pair Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Portugal Telecom. Rounding out the shortlist are four joint bids; a consortium of Russia’s Vimpelcom and the telecoms arm of the Alfa Group, Altimo; a consortium of Egypt-based Orascom Telecom and its subsidiary Telecel Globe; Angola’s UNITEL – a consortium of Unitel and Angola Cables; and a consortium of Libya’s LAP Greencom and LAP Green Networks. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nigeria Says 13 Investors Interested in NITEL Privatization

Sep 2

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NITELNigeria has received expressions of interest from 13 potential investors in the sale of, at least, 75% of NITEL, the former state telecommunications monopoly which it has been trying to privatize for years.

The Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) said it would evaluate interest from companies including the Nigerian arms of South Africa’s MTN and Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat), MTNL India, a group involving Spain’s Telefonica and Nigerian firm Globacom.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is one of the world’s fastest growing mobile markets, adding 7 million new subscribers in the last quarter of 2008 alone, and has overtaken South Africa to become the biggest on the continent. That could make it attractive to foreign investors, particularly if NITEL’s M-TEL mobile unit can be bought at the right price. However, the Nigerian government has struggled to sell NITEL, largely because of the state of its fixed line infrastructure. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nigeria Sets Two-Month Deadline on NITEL (Nigeria Telecommunications) Privatization

Aug 30

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NITELNigeria’s government has set a 60-day deadline for the privatization of the state-owned incumbent telco NITEL, including its mobile subsidiary M-Tel. The announcement came on Monday as the Nigerian Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan, appointed a new board to the company to oversee its stabilization.

NITEL is in financial difficulty and faces intense competition. The firm’s employees have taken strike action this year over unpaid salaries and severance packages, with workers in some instances going without pay for eight months.

Local press reports quoted Goodluck Jonathan as telling the board: “There are a lot of issues at stake since NITEL is a critical infrastructure not only for government but for all Nigerians. Your task is, therefore, very challenging as all of us want to see how NITEL will be properly privatized to yield the expected benefits.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Orascom Telecom Rebrands Namibian Cell One as Leo, Other Units to Follow

Aug 24

Posted by Staff Writer in News | Post Comment

Orascom TelecomNamibian mobile operator Cell One will be rebranded as ‘Leo’ in a process to begin next month.

Egypt-based parent Orascom Telecom, which took over the reins of 2G/3G operator Powercom (trading as Cell One) at the start of this year, explained that the name (pronounced ‘lay-o’) was taken from the Swahili word meaning ‘today’, while also representing the Spanish ‘lion’, and would replace a branding that had become too ‘old school’ and did not resonate well with the public.

The Egyptian group added that the new brand will eventually be adopted by other subsidiaries of its Telecel Globe division in Zimbabwe (Telecel Zimbabwe), Burundi (U-Com Burundi) and the Central African Republic (Telecel Centrafrique). Read the rest of this entry »

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