FT 'Planning to Buy Meditel'

Reuters reports that France Telecom (Orange) is in ‘advanced’ talks with the owners of Morocco's second largest mobile operator Medi Telecom (Meditel) to acquire a 40% share in the company.

Moroccan business weekly Acutel wrote over the weekend, ‘It is official. The negotiations between the owners of Meditel, CDG and Finance.com, and Orange are at an advanced stage,’ and went on to speculate that the stake could be priced at around EUR650 million (USD849 million). Spain's Telefonica and Portugal Telecom last year sold their respective stakes of 32.2% each in Meditel to the operator's other shareholders, Moroccan private investment group Finance.com and state investment vehicle Caisse de Depots et de Gestion (CDG) for USD1.15 billion in total.

Whilst the domestic owners have declared they can run the company alone, they have also indicated their openness to a range of options including a stock market listing and a partnership with a new, major player strategic investor. In March 2010 it was rumoured that the UAE’s Etisalat had ‘agreed’ to acquire a 45% interest in Meditel, which offers cellular, broadband and fixed line services, but a deal did not materialise.

TeleGeography's GlobalComms Database notes that France Telecom sold its Moroccan ISP Maroc Connect (Wanadoo) in August 2004 to the CDG and ONA groups, before ONA bought out CDG in 2005; Maroc Connect became Wana, which launched the successful fixed-wireless and cellular brands Bayn and Inwi, along the way attracting a new foreign investor, Kuwait-based Zain Group.

Main One Goes Live

Main One Cable Company has announced the launch of its high capacity fibre-optic cable system, which links West Africa to Europe, on time and within budget.

The cable spans 7,000km and has landing stations in Nigeria and Ghana with branching units in Morocco, Canary Islands, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. Main One said the cable system will deliver 1.92Tbps of much-needed international capacity into West Africa, more than ten times what is currently available; in the past rapid growth in telecoms in the region has been blighted by limited global connectivity.

‘Today is a historic day for West Africa. The arrival of the Main One cable proves that much good can be done by Africans for Africans. We are pleased to realise the fruit of our dedication and commitment in the past 30 months,’ noted Fola Adeola, chairman of Main One Cable Company, adding: ‘More importantly, we are happy to be a channel for driving growth in Africa and changing the status quo for the average African as reliable internet connectivity becomes easily accessible and affordable for all.’ Wholly African-owned, the Main One cable is the first privately-owned submarine cable system in West Africa.

Maroc Telecom Completes Fibre Link to Western Sahara

Moroccan communications group Maroc Telecom has reached 60% completion in the first phase of a plan to roll out a fibre-optic backbone network linking Morocco with West African countries, reports Dow Jones Newswires quoting Middle Eastern daily Asharq Al Awsat.

Phase one of the network will link the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott, to El Ouyoun in Western Sahara, revealed Maroc Telecom's president Abdulsalam Ahizoune, whilst the finished route will link Mauritania, Gabon, Mali and Burkina Faso, he said.

Wana Launches Inwi In Morocco

Moroccan fixed-wireless, 3G mobile and broadband operator Wana has launched commercial 2G mobile services over its new GSM network on schedule, under its new Inwi brand.

The GSM network has an initial capacity of two million subscriber connections, whilst at launch the company announced that it had 75% population coverage.

Alongside the GSM launch, Wana is offering 3G mobile broadband services, based on its existing national CDMA2000 1xEV-DO network, but now also rebranded under the Inwi banner, with double-play mobile voice and internet bundles including USB wireless modems offered to pre- and post-paid consumers and business users. Aiming for a basic range of low-cost voice and SMS packages to quickly soak up remaining mobile demand, Inwi's initial GSM-based offerings include pre-paid services with per-second billing and a range of post-paid packages with inclusive on-net calls, as well as BlackBerry services.

Having contracted China's Huawei last year to roll out a GSM/W-CDMA network with at least 1,500 2G/3G base stations, Wana is expected to eventually introduce a range of 3G W-CDMA-based services over the new network such as video calling, videoconferencing, streaming media and HSPA-based mobile internet.

Maroc Telecom Profits Down 1%, Revenues Up 2.8%

Moroccan full-service telco Maroc Telecom, majority-owned by France’s Vivendi, has posted a 1% year-on-year fall in 2009 net income to MAD9.43 billion (USD1.15 billion) on consolidated revenues that climbed by 2.8% to MAD30.34 billion, as it increased spending, especially in the mobile segment. Group EBITDA for the year rose by 2.9% to MAD18.15 billion.


Operations in Morocco generated net revenues of MAD25.76 billion in 2009, up 0.1% versus 2008, EBITDA of MAD16.16 billion, down 1.5%, and earnings from operations of MAD13.08 billion, down 3.5% year-on-year, chiefly due to the impact of promotional initiatives deployed to stimulate the market and maintain its leading position. Maroc Telecom’s domestic mobile subscriber base grew by 5.6% in twelve months to 15.27 million at end-December 2009, whilst it had 1.234 million Moroccan fixed lines in service at year-end, down 5% year-on-year, due mainly to shrinkage in the residential customer base (down 8.8%) resulting from mobile substitution. At end-December the telco had 469,000 ADSL subscribers, down 1.7% compared to the same date in 2008.

However, it also signed up 174,000 3G/3.5G mobile broadband customers on its W-CDMA/HSPA-based cellular network by year-end, up from less than 30,000 a year earlier.

Group-wide, the operator had a total of 21.7 million customers at end-2009, up 12.6% year on year, reflecting the inclusion of Malian operator SOTELMA, the resurgence in domestic mobile growth and continued year-on-year expansion of other subsidiaries’ mobile customer bases in Gabon, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. A statement from the company read: ‘Based on current market conditions, and barring any unforeseen disruptions to the group's operations, Maroc Telecom will achieve moderate growth in revenues in 2010, driven mainly by growth of subsidiaries.’

Zain, Bharti To Sign Letter of Intent

A letter of intent (LoI) will be signed between Bharti Airtel and Zain for the proposed USD 10.7-billion deal for the African assets of the Kuwait-based firm by the end of this week.
An exclusive talk is carried out between the two companies till March 25 for the proposed deal as per which Bharti would buy Zain’s African assets except those in Morocco and Sudan.
USD 9 billion for the assets would be paid by Bharti and the rest would be towards the debt of the Kuwaiti firm.

Qtel Abandons Africa Plans, Eyes More Middle East Investments

The CEO of Qatar Telecom (Qtel), Nasser Marafih, says the company is looking into increasing its investments in the Iraqi and Algerian telecoms markets because of the potential for expansion in the two countries, according to a report in The Peninsula.

Qtel controls 36.2% of mobile operator Wataniya Telecom Algeria (Nedjma), via a 71% stake held by Kuwaiti-based Wataniya Telecom (NMTC), a 51%-owned subsidiary of Qtel. The Qatari mobile, fixed line and broadband group also holds 30% of the consortium-controlled cellco Asiacell in Iraq. In Algeria, the second national operator (SNO) fixed line licence is currently vacant; in January 2010 previous SNO Lacom’s licence was officially revoked, potentially paving the way for the concession to be reauctioned later in the year.

Dr Marafih was quoted as saying that the global financial crisis had some positive impact on Qtel’s businesses in the sense that the lowering of licence fees worldwide to a ‘more realistic’ level meant it was cheaper to expand into new markets. The lower prices, the CEO continued, will create further opportunities for Qtel’s acquisitions in the future.

‘We now have control of 14 communication companies in 17 countries,’ he said, but added, however, that Qtel has abandoned any plans for expanding into African markets because of the high levels of competition. It is thought likely he was just referring to sub-Saharan countries; Qtel recently indicated interest in entering Morocco’s mobile sector.

Rotana To Supply Content To Meditel

Moroccan mobile operator Medi Telecom (Meditel) has signed a deal with Saudi Arabian broadcaster Rotana Media as part of a drive to attract more young subscribers with online entertainment content, Reuters reports.

Rotana, part of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's Kingdom Holding company, controls 85% of the music market among the Arab world's more than 300 million population and has 60% of its film distribution and production market, according to the article.

The partnership deal with Meditel includes all Rotana content, Rotana Digital Media Chairman Youssef Mugharbil told journalists, whilst the firm plans to strike similar deals with firms in the region and beyond if the venture proves successful.

Wana Appoints Huawei to Supply 3G Network

Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions worldwide, today announced that it has been appointed as the sole supplier of Morocco WANA’s GSM/UMTS network. Thanks to that, WANA’s 2 Million subscribers will enjoy abundant 3G services such as video call, video conference, streaming media and mobile internet.

Under a contract signed by Huawei and WANA, Huawei will provide a GSM/UMTS solution with equipment to WANA exclusively, including GSM/UMTS wireless network, core network and value added services (VAS) network, etc.

Huawei’s accurate frequency planning and various anti-disturbance measures are the key to avoiding disturbance problem in the complicated wireless environment and enhancing the usage of spectrum resources whilst protecting telecom provider’s investment. Phase one of the project will utilise over 1500 of Huawei’s industry-leading fourth-generation base stations with the All-IP solution set to be completed by December, 2009.

Mr. Frédéric Debord, General Director of WANA, commented "WANA has the target to become a leading operator in Morocco. And we are delighted to cooperate with Huawei to open a new network of good quality and performance for our subscribers, with best solutions and offers."

Mr. Zuo Defeng, Vice President of West Africa Region, Huawei, said:” This is a significant milestone to Huawei, WANA and WANA’s users. Huawei’s advanced mobile network solution and equipment will help WANA take the lead in mobile telecommunications market in Morocco, and help WANA achieve business success.”

As a core component of its SingleRAN solution, the fourth-generation BTS supports multi-mode radio access networking (GSM, TD-SCDMA, UMTS, LTE, CDMA and WiMAX), and incorporates green optimisation and All-IP technologies, providing a truly convergent solution for network operators. Huawei has shipped over 1.5 million transceivers (TRXs) for its fourth-generation base stations. Huawei’s fourth-generation BTS are being used by more than 20 leading operators in 100 countries.

Vivendi in Need for Expansion As Maroc Telecom Growth Stalls

For a few days last month Maroc Telecom's parent company Vivendi looked like it might pull off one of the most audacious attempts yet to arrest control of one of the Middle East & Africa's largest mobile operations from the now well-entrenched players.

However, Zain, whose Celtel unit was the subject of the interest, could not agree on price with the French company and the chance of a deal - however unlikely most commentators, including your author, thought that to be - now looks to be dead and gone.

If a transaction had gone ahead it would most likely have had a significant effect on Maroc Telecom's place in the Vivendi group, with the Moroccan incumbent slotting in as part of a much larger overall portfolio.

As it is, the company remains Vivendi's sole venture in the emerging markets, and its sole vehicle for growth in Africa. In addition to its home operation and its long-standing subsidiary in Mauritania, Maroc Telecom has expanded into Burkina Faso and Gabon by purchasing the incumbents in these markets, and this year has followed those deals with the agreement to purchase a majority stake in Sotelma, the incumbent telco in Mali. The talks with Zain indicate, however, that management in France is not entirely content with this slow piece-wise expansion strategy.

The mobile business, which accounts for almost two-thirds of Maroc Telecom's MAD14.6bn strong top line, grew by 25.9% in connection terms in the year to 30th June 2008, but by just 5.9% in the most recent 12 months. Strong performances by the regional operators (+26% in Gabon, +30% in Mauritania, +74% in Burkina Faso) have failed to offset an almost complete arrest of growth in Morocco which grew by just 0.5% in the year. With 14.29m customers, the Moroccan business still accounts for 81% of the overall mobile base of 17.55m, whilst its fixed operation contributes 84% of the 1.5m strong landline total.

In revenue terms, the home business is even more dominant with 86% of the mobile turnover and 85% of the fixed - and it is convincingly the most profitable in both departments. In this light it is perhaps no wonder that Maroc Telecom's acquisition in Mali - involving around 1m customers - has failed to satisfy the appetites of the French owners. The question, if Celtel is off the menu, is where they will turn next?

Maroc Telecom Revenues Up 1.9%

Moroccan incumbent Maroc Telecom has reported its consolidated group results for the first half of 2009. Revenues were up 1.9% year-on-year to MAD14.6 billion (USD1.84 billion) in the six months ended 30 June, whilst EBITDA rose 1.0% to MAD8.6 billion and net income attributable to the group climbed 2.6% to MAD 4.6 billion.

The total customer base reached 19.6 million at mid-year, up by 5.3% from June 2008, with growth fuelled by subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa which saw their combined customer bases increase by 44.1% year-on-year to 3.2 million customers. In the second quarter revenues stood at MAD7.46 billion, up 1.8% versus the same period last year.

The results incorporate Maroc Telecom's domestic fixed line, broadband and mobile operations, and its subsidiaries Mauritel (Mauritania), Onatel (Burkina Faso) and Gabon Telecom (including cellco Libertis) as well as the Mobisud France and Mobisud Belgium MVNO companies. Mobisud France was withdrawn from Maroc Telecom's consolidated financials as from 1 June 2009.

The Moroccan operator also released a 2009 full year outlook, predicting revenue growth of around 2% and an operating margin of around 45% (compared to 44.9% in H1).

Etisalat To Bid for Meditel as it Eyes Africa & Middle East

Emirates Telecommunications Corp said it would bid for a stake in Morocco's Meditel as it seeks acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa, adding asset prices were likely to fall further.
Emirates Telecom, known as Etisalat, would also continue to pursue the telecom license in Iran it was stripped of last week, its Chairman Mohammed Hassan Omran told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan.
"We are looking for opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, especially at this time there are some good assets," Omran told Reuters Financial Television. "Assets are becoming cheap ... we see them becoming more cheap in coming months."
Portugal Telecom has appointed Morgan Stanley to sell its 32 percent stake in Meditel, Morocco's second-largest telecoms company, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
"We are expecting Morocco ... We are participating in the bid for Morocco... Meditel and we are working hard for Syria and Lebanon," Omran said, without giving further details.
The telecom operator is facing stiffer competition in its home market the United Arab Emirates, the second-largest Arab economy, where some analysts expect job cuts and expected population declines could way on future earnings of Etisalat and rival du DU.DU.
"We are working hard to maintain that and even get it better," Omran said when asked if Etisalat was likely to be able to match a 4-percent rise in profit it achieved in the first quarter.
He said the UAE market is becoming more difficult because expatriates are leaving, but Etisalat expected growth in Saudi Arabia, where its affiliate Etihad Etisalat 7020.SE was doing "better than expected."
Etisalat Egypt, the third mobile phone operator in the North African country, was also performing "better than competitors," Omran said. Saudi Arabia is the most-populous Gulf Arab country while Egypt has the largest population in the Arab world.
Etisalat said in January it planned to invest up to $5 billion over five years in its Iranian operation after winning the country's third mobile telephone license.
But Iran said on May 11 it had granted a consortium led by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co the license instead because a group including Etisalat and Iran's Tamin Telecom "had not fulfilled its obligations.
"In Iran, we made the best bid. Our partner could not continue and that ended up disqualifying the consortium," Omran said. "We are evaluating the possibilities. It is the big market and it has a lot of potential. But it is complex. The game is not over for us in Iran."
-Reuters

Maroc Telecom Registers Q1 Revenue Growth of 2.4%

Maroc Telecom Group's revenues in the first quarter reached MAD 7.1 billion, up 2.4 percent compared to the year-earlier period. Operating profit rose to MAD 3.2 billion, up 2.7 percent on a strong performance both in its home market Morocco and in the subsidiaries' operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The group's EBITDA increased to MAD 4.2 billion, up 4.9 percent.

The customer base grew by 9.7 percent year-on-year to 19.7 million at 31 March. This growth was essentially attributable to mobile services in Morocco, which achieved a 6.8 percent year-on-year increase in the customer base to 14.6 million (up by 147,000 from December), and to the African subsidiaries, which expanded the mobile customer base by 42.8 percent to 2.8 million. Revenues in Morocco rose to MAD 6.1 billion in the first quarter, up 1.0 percent year-on-year, with mobile service revenues up 1.9 percent to MAD 4.4 billion

The annualized mobile churn rate came to 37.5 percent, representing a 2.6 point increase versus the previous quarter, while blended ARPU amounted to MAD 91, down 6.4 percent year-on-year, essentially due to the impact of growth in the customer base and lower interconnection revenues. Revenues in the fixed-line and internet segments in Morocco came to MAD 2.4 billion, up 1.2 percent year-on-year. At end-March, the fixed-line network had 1.286 million lines in service, representing a 3.7 percent decrease year-on-year, while the average monthly bill increased marginally (up 0.6%).

The ADSL customer base totaled 488,000 lines at 31 March, up 0.2 percent year-on-year. In addition, the 3G mobile internet customer base rose from 28,000 customers to 65,000 customers during the first quarter.

Zain "Acquires 31% of Morocco's Wana"

Middle East and Africa mobile operator has acquired 31% of Morocco's Wana Corporate.  La Vie Eco quoting a reliable source says there has been an exchange of shares between Zain and the Wana share holders, 51% shareholder Ona and INS that has been with a 49% stake.

The report says it is not clear what stake either of the current shareholders have surrendered in the deal.

Mali Still Talking to Maroc Telecom Over Sotelma Sale

The government of Mali is still in talks to sell a majority stake in national operator Sotelma to Maroc Telecom, reports local daily L'Essor. Maroc Telecom presented its bid for a 51 percent stake in January.

The Moroccan operator, already active in several African countries, offered EUR 252 million, beating bids of EUR 111 million from Sudatel and EUR 80 million from Portugal Telecom, according to the paper.

The government has given itself three months to negotiate with Maroc Telecom, a communications ministry official told the paper. Two weeks ago a delegation from the Moroccan operator visited the country to continue the negotiations.

The ministry official said the government is hoping for an improvement in Maroc Telecom's offer, while also looking to secure certain guarantees on personnel and management after the privatisation. The government has already negotiated a social plan at Sotelma for 610 voluntary redundancies, out of total staff of 1,382. 

Morocco's Annual Subscriber Numbers Hits 14% Growth Rate

Morocco's mobile phone subscriber base rose by around 14 percent to 22.82 million at the end of 2008, compared to 20.03 million a year earlier, according to telecommunications regulator ANRT. 

Mobile penetration grew to 73.98 percent from 65.66 percent over the same period. Maroc Telecom leads the market with 63.36 percent of mobile phone customers, followed by Medi Telecom with 34.73 percent and Wana Corporate with 1.91 percent.

The mix of prepaid to contract customers remains unchanged at 96/4. The fixed phone subscriber base rose by 24.96 percent to 2.99 million at the end of 2008, compared to 2.39 million subscribers a year earlier. 

Fixed phone penetration thus increased to 9.7 percent from 7.85 percent. Residential customers account for 802.1 percent of all fixed lines.

The number of internet subscribers rose by 43.98 percent to 757,453. Dial-up customers fell by 8.96 percent to 5,454 and ADSL customers frew by 1.34 percent 482,791. 3G internet customers grew five-fold to 268,131 over the same period.

ADSL accounts for 63.74 percent of all internet subscribers, followed by 3G with 35.4 percent. 

Maroc Telecom Annual Revenue up by 7.2%

Maroc Telecom posted a 7.2 percent rise in annual sales to MAD 29.5 billion, driven mainly by its mobile operations. In the fourth quarter, revenues rose a slower 3.9 percent to MAD 7.5 billion. The Moroccan operator expects to report growth in operating profit of over 13 percent for 2008. In its home market Morocco, revenues rose 6.6 percent last year to MAD 27.7 billion. For the fourth quarter, mobile revenues in Morocco improved 4.3 percent to MAD 4.7 billion and fixed-line sales rose 6.4 percent to MAD 2.5 billion. The company finished the year with 14.456 million mobile customers in its home market, up 8.5 percent from 2007, while mobile ARPU fell 8.4 percent to MAD 99.2. The number of fixed-line customers was down 2.8 percent to 1.299 million, while the fixed internet base grew 1.3 percent to 400,000. Marco Telecom also had 30,000 mobile broadband users and 10,000 IPTV customers.