In Eastern Europe, where it already has a foothold through its subsidiary Telekom Austria, the outlook is brighter, and it was "feasible" the company could draw 15 percent of its revenue from Europe by 2020, CFO Carlos Garcia Moreno said. Europe presently makes up just under 7 percent of revenue at America Movil.
According to Garcia Moreno, Eastern Europe is similar to Latin America several years ago, as people stopped investing in fixed-line networks when mobile took off. "In Eastern Europe you need to build a lot more, develop the fixed platform much more for the new phase of growth in mobile data services," he said. "In this process there are acquisitions that can be made." He declined to say which companies America Movil would go after and noted assets on offer are scarce. Many opportunities to expand will instead come through organic growth, he said.
Despite its interest in Eastern Europe, Garcia Moreno said the company decided not to participate in the privatization of Telekom Srbija. Both America Movil and Telekom Austria were earlier reported to be among the potential bidders for the Serbian operator.
