The sale of SA technology powerhouse Dimension Data to Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) is a big step closer. The companies announced on Thursday that NTT’s proposed R24,4bn buy-out of Didata has been given the nod by both the European Commission and Australia’s Foreign Investment Board.
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MTN SA plans to build a third-generation (3G) mobile network to offer wireless broadband to consumers in outlying areas. It will build the 3G network at 900MHz. TechCentral has learnt that MTN expects significant growth in demand for broadband services outside SA’s cities over the next few years and so is keen to boost its 3G coverage in these areas.
Telecommunications group MTN faces tougher times in the 20 territories in which it operates outside SA as regulators across Africa and the Middle East begin to flex their muscles. Outgoing group president and CEO Phuthuma Nhleko says operators across the region are facing tougher regulations.
The board of Africa’s largest mobile phone operator, MTN, should be in a position to announce the name of the group’s new CEO “within the next month or two”. That’s the word from outgoing CEO Phuthuma Nhleko, who was speaking during question time at the presentation of the group’s interim financial results in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Phuthuma Nhleko, group president and CEO of JSE-listed emerging markets telecommunications group MTN, has not completely given up on the idea of concluding another big acquisition. “Though we realise there are far fewer opportunities out there, we cannot afford to be inactive because the terrain is changing all the time,” Nhleko told analysts at the group’s interim results presentation in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The strong rand has taken its toll on MTN, Africa’s largest mobile operator MTN. In the six months to 30 June, the group’s revenue has fallen 2,2% to R56bn. However, revenue would have been 12%, or R8,2bn, higher than reported if the rand had not been as strong.
Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT), which is in the process of acquiring Dimension Data in a R24bn all-cash deal, should be pleased with the SA-based technology group’s latest financial results. In the three months to 30 June 2010, Didata has lifted sales by a robust 22% over the same period in 2009, boosted by a good performance from its systems integration division.
After years of investment in airport upgrades, and even entirely new international airports, Airports Company SA (Acsa) is turning its spending priorities to technology to make its airports more efficient and extend their lifespan. Acsa will spend R165m in the coming year on top of R187m spent last year.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has received a written assurance from pay-TV licensee Super 5 Media that it is still in operation. “We received a communiqué from Super 5 Media a week before last clarifying its position in relation to recent press reports,” says Icasa spokesman, Paseka Maleka.
As MTN’s outgoing president and CEO Phuthuma Nhleko prepares to present his final interim results set on Thursday, analysts are hoping the group’s board will announce his successor at the same time. At the beginning of March, MTN made the surprise announcement that Nhleko had decided to step down and would leave the group by March next year.