Investment

As part of a look at growth opportunities in Africa, DT editor James Barton met up with Eaton Towers director and Celtel co-founder Terry Rhodes to discuss attitudes towards investment in the continent.

New reports have arisen suggesting that the Polish operator Polkomtel is likely to be acquired by a fellow Pole, the billionaire Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, who is thought to be the nation’s second most wealthy man...

The sale of the Nigerian firm Multi-Links has been scrapped by the former’s owner, the South African operator Telkom, due to an ongoing legal challenge from the infrastructure provider Helios Towers...

The mobile financial services specialist Fundamo has been acquired by Visa for around $110 million, indicating that the global payments giant is looking to strengthen its operations in emerging markets by capitalising on Fundamo’s experience in this area...

New MVNO services will launch throughout Latin America via a partnership between MVNO specialist Tribe Mobile and Virgin Group, which operates a mobile virtual network in the UK...

The founder and CEO of the Indian telecom giant Bharti Group, Sunil Mittal, has announced that the firm will provide a cash injection of US$1 billion this year for its upcoming mobile operations in Africa...

According to reports, Telecom Egypt is aiming to resume negotiations with Vodafone over a potential takeover of the UK-based firm’s Egyptian operations...

Telkom South Africa’s attempt to sell its CDMA operations in Nigeria could be derailed by a legal injunction filed by the infrastructure supplier Helios Towers...

One of Indonesia’s largest operators, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, is aiming to reacquire a 35% stake in its mobile operations from the Singaporean operator SingTel...

The sole offer for a 51% stake in the Serbian operator Telekom Srbija has been rejected by the country’s government...

In an apparent challenge to the dominance of America Movil, Mexico’s media firm Grupo Televisa has acquired a 50% stake in the country’s third largest operator, Iusacell. Shareholders of both firms will have “equal corporate governance” over the resulting entity...

There could be trouble ahead for Vodafone’s proposed buyout of joint venture partner Essar, as the Indian operator is demanding more for its 33% stake than the pre-agreed fee of US$5 billion – allegedly US$600 to US$700 million...

India’s three major state-owned telecoms firms have been advised by the country’s government to merge...

The largest shareholder in India’s Idea Cellular, the Aditya Birla Group, is reportedly looking to sell a stake in the Indian operator to MTN...

After a well-publicised deterioration in relations, Vodafone has announced that it will acquire Essar’s 33% stake in the two firms’ Indian mobile joint venture for US$5 billion...

A major operator in the Philippines is set to purchase a controlling stake in one of its rivals...

The growth of mobile services is a key part of extending the benefits of communications in emerging markets. It is also essential for mobile operators looking for new services to differentiate their offering and generate new income. Mobile banking has been one of the big success stories in the last few years. Now attention is turning to other areas in the financial area. One of these areas is mobile insurance...

A lengthy saga has finally come to a close, with Etisalat announcing that it is no longer aiming to purchase a controlling stake in the Kuwaiti firm Zain...

A new joint venture between France Telecom and Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility has been formed in order to purchase a 44% stake in the Iraqi operator Korek Telecom...

The South African operator MTN is set to provide its Nigerian subsidiary with an investment of US$1 billion. MTN Nigeria is the largest operator in the country, which is Africa’s biggest mobile market...

The beleaguered merger proposal between Zain and Etisalat could be back on track, with Zain reportedly agreeing to sell its Saudi Arabian operations...

The CEO of VimpelCom, Alexander Izosimov, has made it clear that while he expects the firm’s shareholders to greenlight its planned merger with Wind Telecom next week, the Russian operator will not be pursuing any more large scale acquisitions for some time thereafter...

Following on from allegations originating from European vendors that Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE are receiving state funding, China’s Ministry of Commerce has accused the EU of the same thing in a new study...

The Bahraini operator Batelco has had its offer to buy a 25% in Zain’s Saudi operations rejected by the Kuwaiti firm. This development is yet another setback for Etisalat’s bid to purchase a controlling stake in Zain...

NFC retail payment and other POS services are set to gain traction in emerging markets following the announcement of a partnership between contactless network provider accells and Fundamo, the specialist mobile financial services provider...

Adding to the objections of European telecoms vendors, a European Commission document has criticised the state financial support received by Chinese vendors ZTE and Huawei...

The biggest mobile operator in Russia may be pursuing a merger as a means of furthering its ambition to become a major global telecoms group...

Telenor’s opposition to VimpelCom’s proposed acquisition of Wind Telecom (formerly Weather Investments) shows no sign of letting up, with the Norwegian firm initiating a court case to protect the “pre-emptive rights” that it enjoys as a key VimpelCom shareholder...

As part of an ongoing spat with its Indian partner Essar, Vodafone has released a statement declaring its stance on the matter...

The availability and cost of finance is a key factor in the consolidation process now taking place amongst Communications Service Providers (CSPs) in emerging markets. Without access to finance deals cannot take place...

A new alliance has been formed between three major Asian operators – China Mobile, South Korean KT, and Japan’s NTT Docomo – aimed at providing “new experiences and greater convenience” to mobile subscribers in Northeast Asia...

In the past year there have been a number of changes of ownership and take-overs among communication service providers (CSPs) in emerging markets. This is part of the process of the network consolidation taking place across emerging regions as the realities of operating in low ARPU markets, such as increased competition and rising fuel and labour costs, begin to bear down on CSPs...

Although the original deadline for a final deal was 15^th January, Etisalat has stated that it will persist in its attempt to purchase a 46% stake in Zain although its initial offer has now expired...