Orange leaning towards new Ethiopian licence rather than Ethio Telecom investment

News Wireless Ethiopia 16 DEC 2019
Orange leaning towards new Ethiopian licence rather than Ethio Telecom investment

Orange Group has found the prospect of securing one of the two new Ethiopian licences to be granted in March 2020 more appealing than that of acquiring a minority stake in Ethio Telecom, reports The Africareport. Orange CEO Stephane Richard said that he is wary of those nudging Orange towards Ethio Telecom.

Orange has operations in over eighteen African countries through its Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) division. 

According to Richard, Ethiopia's market characteristics and political situation, in addition to Ethio Telecom's own specificities, add an extra layer of complexity to the process. Ethio Telecom is a monopolistic operator in a previously communist country. He said these factors have raised concerns, as Orange does not think that the operator is up there with the world’s leading players.

Richard said that Orange is aware of the country's plans to privatise the operator, but it lacks in-depth knowledge of the terms and conditions of that privatisation. He added that Orange had opened an office in Addis Ababa to facilitate communication about the possibilities.


 

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

Orange,  Ethio Telecom

Countries:

Ethiopia

Tags:

Government telecommunications licensing, Voice services, Wireless, M&A buyouts & divestments

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