MTN likely to purchase ZTE’s 51% stake in Congo-Chine Telecom
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTN, the African incumbent, is likely to purchase ZTE’s 51% stake in Congo-Chine Telecom, a mobile operator in Democratic Republic of Congo. MTN is reportedly the potential buyer among several suitors planning to acquire Congo-Chine Telecom. According to Kang Linghua, Spokesman of the company, negotiations to sell the country’s third-largest mobile operator, valued at about $400 million, may stretch beyond this year because of the global economic recession.
The acquisition would enable MTN to expand into a market that’s likely to add 25 million subscribers over five years as 85% of people there still don’t own mobile phones. As for ZTE, the sale would help the Chinese firm focus on its main business of selling equipment and handsets. Kang has further revealed that Maroc Telecom has also held talks about a possible purchase.
