Investment

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Indian operator Reliance Communications and the China Development Bank Corporation which will see the former receive funding of US$1.93 billion...

Following a recent conference in London on financing telecoms in emerging markets, Developing Telecoms Publisher Alec Barton reflects on the recent spate of mergers and acquisitions amongst mobile network operators in emerging markets, particularly in Africa. He looks at some of the causes and considers whether the trend towards consolidation will continue...

One of Zain’s shareholders has initiated legal proceedings in an attempt to prevent the sale of a 46% stake in the company to rival operator Etisalat, in a move that threatens the proposed US$12 billion deal between the two Middle Eastern firms...

Developing Telecoms recently examined some of the factors that have led to mobile banking’s success across many African markets. Mobile money transfers in particular represent a far more secure alternative to handling devalued currency in a cash economy, and for this reason adoption has been widespread. However, the informality of mobile banking infrastructure in Africa can appear challenging to the developed world, and raises serious questions about the potential impact of fraud in the mobile finance sector...

One of the key bones of contention in the VimpelCom – Orascom merger has been the Algerian government’s claim that it was promised ownership of Orascom’s Algerian operations, branded Djezzy...

TeliaSonera has increased its shares in TeliaSonera Asia Holding, purchasing US$160 million of assets and raising its stake to 75.45%...

Tunisia’s largest operator, Tunisiana, is now completely owned by Qtel. The Qatari operator already owned a 50% stake following a joint venture with Orascom, and the Egyptian conglomerate has now sold its stake to its partner as part of an effort to reduce its overall debt before it completes its merger with VimpelCom...

 The Bank of China has agreed to loan a total of US$591 million to Cambodia’s largest mobile operator, in a financing agreement unprecedented in the Southeast Asian nation’s history...

 The Kuwaiti operator Zain has accepted a preliminary offer by UAE market leader Etisalat to take a majority stake in the firm...

Competition in India’s 3G market is set to increase, as the major Indian operator Bharti Airtel has declared its aim to launch 3G services by the end of 2010. If it begins 3G operations by this deadline, Bharti will become the second privately-owned operator in India to do so...

Telecom Italia’s bid to increase its stake in Telecom Argentina’s controlling company has been approved by the Argentinean regulator. TI now has full control of Sofora Telecommunications after increasing its 50% stake to a majority 58%...

The recent news of a merger between Orascom and VimpelCom has not dampened the Algerian government’s desire to nationalise Djezzy, Orascom’s Algerian branch...

VimpelCom and Weather Investments – the owner of Orascom Telecom – have confirmed a merger between the two firms. The resulting entity will be the world’s fifth-largest mobile operator group...

Vodafone has announced an agreement to sell its entire 3.2% interest in China Mobile, clarifying that the two companies will continue their commercial and technology cooperation. Vodafone expects the cash consideration to be approximately £4.3bn before tax and transaction costs...

Russia’s largest operator VimpelCom and Egyptian operator Orascom have confirmed that they are holding talks to discuss the possibility of a US$25 billion merger...

Telefonica, one of the largest mobile operators in Spain and Latin America, saw its profits rise by 16% in the second quarter of 2010, with a weaker Spanish market being offset by an increase in revenue from Latin America...

Bharti Airtel has bid almost US$11 billion for Zain Africa. Negotiations around the bid will continue until 25 March - at present there is no guarantee that the current bid will be successful. It may well be the case that this week’s resignation by Zain CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak reflects a disagreement at board level regarding Bharti’s bid...

Zain has announced that its new CEO, effective from Sunday, February 14^th, will be Mr Nabil Bin Salama. The appointment, made by the Board of Directors of Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, follows the sudden resignation of former Chief Executive Mr Saad Al Barrak...

US$45.5 is the price now on offer from France Telecom for a single share in Mobinil, the Egyptian operator owned jointly by France Telecom and Orascom Telecom. Mobinil’s future has recently been the subject of several complex legal and financial developments...

Twenty-three cities across Mexico are set to benefit from high-speed wireless internet services, thanks to a US$700 million investment from MVS Comunicaciones SA, Clearwire and Intel...

Following our report of the dispute over ownership of Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil, it has become all too clear that the arguments between France Telecom and Orascom Telecom will become fiercer, arbitration or not...

Vodafone has acquired a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom from the Government of Ghana. Total consideration is US$900 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis, which would imply a total enterprise value for Ghana Telecom of approximately US$1.3 billion...

Financial analyst Deloitte has revealed the countries whose rates of taxation, direct or indirect, on mobile communications are the highest in the world. Heaviest tax is in Turkey, where the taxation rate as a cost of mobile ownership is over 2.5 times the global average. Deloitte's report, commissioned by the GSMA, is summarised in this critical review...

Intel's decision to invest US$300 million to build a semiconductor chip assembly and test manufacturing factory in Ho Chi Minh City is set to inspire a new wave of foreign investment in Vietnam' s information and communication technology sector...