TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Where to next for Dimension Data

      5 July 2022

      Zapper is said to seek fundraising at huge valuation

      5 July 2022

      Stage-5 load shedding to continue until Thursday

      5 July 2022

      Big step forward for Cell C as debt deal approved

      5 July 2022

      Eskom unions accept 7% wage offer

      5 July 2022
    • World

      Bitcoin hints at a bottom – but it may be different this time

      5 July 2022

      China, US war of words erupts over lunar missions

      5 July 2022

      Tether fails to calm jittery nerves

      4 July 2022

      EU to impose wide-ranging new rules on the crypto industry

      3 July 2022

      Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows files for bankruptcy

      3 July 2022
    • In-depth

      The bonfire of the NFTs

      5 July 2022

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»MTN no longer interested in Ethiopia licence: sources

    MTN no longer interested in Ethiopia licence: sources

    News By Loni Prinsloo5 August 2021
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Ethiopia’s revived plan to sell a second telecommunications 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.

    MTN Group offered US$600-million to enter Africa’s second most populous country earlier this year, only to be rejected by the Ethiopian government. And while the state has since adjusted the terms of the auction in pursuit of attracting a higher amount, MTN sees the investment risk starting to outweigh the benefits, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous as the deliberations are not public.

    MTN declined to comment. Eyob Tekalign, Ethiopia’s state minister for finance, did not immediately respond to a phone call and text message seeking comment.

    The government has also put a minority stake in state firm Ethio Telecom up for sale alongside sugar assets

    Ethiopia awarded one licence to a consortium led by Vodacom Group unit Safaricom in May, after accepting an offer of about $850-million and a commitment to invest 10 times that amount over the next decade. The government has also put a minority stake in state firm Ethio Telecom up for sale alongside sugar assets, part of a privatisation plan to raise funds for debt repayments and to boost the economy.

    Civil war

    Yet for MTN at least, developments such as Ethiopia’s ongoing civil war in the northern Tigray region have made entering the country less attractive than in the past, said the people. Tensions around the filling of a giant dam on the Nile are also a concern, they said, due to the increased threat of conflict with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan.

    Operating in times of unrest carries the risk of telecom infrastructure being damaged, said the people, and Ethiopia will need about 7 500 to 8 000 new mobile towers to expand services around the country. Less than half of nation’s 110 million people have mobile phone subscriptions, though improving services and adding customers will require significant investment.

    MTN hasn’t finalised its plans, said the people, and are still examining the situation. There’s also the possibility that another company will see a bid as more viable, especially as Ethiopia is now including the opportunity to offer mobile financial services from the outset.

    “The Ethiopian Communications Authority wishes to inform all interested telecoms operators to consider this attractive multinational investment opportunity and to remain tuned for additional information by the authority on the launch date of the bid process,” the regulator said in a statement.

    The Horn of Africa country is in the process of selling a 40% stake in Ethio Telecom. France’s Orange has shown an interest, having previously held a management contract with the firm in the early part of last decade.  — (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP

    Ethio Telecom MTN Safaricom top Vodacom
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleEOH to list on A2X Markets
    Next Article It’s not all sunshine and roses at Telkom

    Related Posts

    Where to next for Dimension Data

    5 July 2022

    Zapper is said to seek fundraising at huge valuation

    5 July 2022

    Stage-5 load shedding to continue until Thursday

    5 July 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Hot Ink certifies and diversifies to maintain competitive printing edge

    5 July 2022

    Increased flexibility with Dell Precision Mobile Workstations

    5 July 2022

    The 5 secrets of customer experience in the cloud era

    5 July 2022
    Opinion

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.