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.

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.