Etisalat, the ever-expanding United Arab Emirates-based mobile operator, has said a 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom would “complement our existing operations in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
HumanIPO reported yesterday the operator had reached 15 million subscribers within just four years in Nigeria, adding four million in the last 12 months alone. They are also active in Egypt, Niger, the Ivory Coast and Gabon, among others.
Previous reports have linked Qatar’s Qtel, Saudi Arabia’s STC and South Africa’s MTN with the 53 percent share up for sale by multinational media group Vivendi.
An Etisalat statement said: “Etisalat’s interest in Maroc Telecom is consistent with our stated strategy of selective expansion in our core MENA markets and would complement our existing operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Maroc is believed to have 17 million mobile customers in Morocco and has a 47.5 percent share of the mobile phone market in the country as well as a 44 percent share of the high-speed internet market.
The North African mobile industry is currently going through major changes with the unstable and political environment leading to uncertainty within the public and private sectors.
HumanIPO reported earlier this month the Tunisian government was continuing its sell-off of the the country’s biggest operator, Tunisiana, with a further 15 percent sale to Qatari Telecom.
