Tencent investor Prosus – the spinoff of JSE-listed technology and media conglomerate Naspers – is placing its bet on India as the next big technology market.
Author: Loni Prinsloo
Loni Prinsloo
Loni Prinsloo is deals reporter at Bloomberg, based in Johannesburg.
The deal between South Africa’s Naspers and its spinoff Prosus this week caused havoc, with the JSE forced to delay opening by hours on Wednesday amid the rush of rebalancing trades.
Facebook and some of the world’s largest telecommunications carriers, China Mobile and MTN Group, are set to build a wider-than-earlier-planned giant subsea cable in Africa.
MTN Group is set to complete the sale and leaseback of South African towers by the end of next month, while a separation of both the fintech and fibre units is also under way.
Ethiopia’s revived plan to sell a second telecoms licence to international operators received an early setback as MTN Group isn’t likely to resubmit a bid, according to people familiar with the matter.
Facebook and Liquid Intelligent Technologies are extending their reach in Africa by laying 2 000km of fibre in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Naspers spin-off Prosus is planning to expand its grocery services using “dark stores” as competition booms in the global market for food delivery.
Vodacom Group is expanding its financial and e-commerce services in South Africa through a partnership with AliPay, seeking to accelerate growth in a market hampered by a lack of new broadband spectrum.
Helios Towers plans to use an expansion into Oman to further its presence in the Middle East and North Africa, while it is also eyeing a potential deal in South Africa with MTN Group.
MTN Group is making progress towards separating the company’s fintech business and sell a portfolio of South African towers as Africa’s largest wireless carrier continues to slim down.