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Wireless Federation » archive for 'Safaricom'

Vodafone seals $900m Ghana deal (Ghana)

  • July 3rd, 2008
  • 2:08 pm

Vodafone on Thursday secured a 70 per cent stake in Ghana Telecom for $900m, in the latest sign of the UK mobile operator’s appetite for Africa’s fast-growing telecoms markets.

Arun Sarin, Vodafone’s outgoing chief executive, said in a statement: ”Ghana is one of the most attractive markets in Africa with mobile subscribers growing at more than 55 per cent a year and mobile penetration around 35 per cent. Our extensive operating experience together with our portfolio of products and services position us well to deliver a superior mobile experience to Ghanaian customers and significantly improve financial performance.”

Ghana Telecom operates the country’s third largest mobile carrier, with 1.4m customers and a one-third market share, and a fixed line and broadband service. It reported revenue growth of 9.3 per cent in the 12 months ended 31 December 2007 to $290m and earnings of $42m.

Mr Sarin has identified Africa as one of its key targets for growth, having expanded its position in India last year. Vodafone already owns a majority stake in Vodafone Egypt and 40 per cent of Safaricom in Kenya, which listed on the Kenyan market last month.

The UK group is also looking to increase its 50 per cent stake in Vodacom, South Africa’s largest mobile operator, where Telkom is currently its joint venture partner.

   

Subscriber growth boosts Safaricom

  • May 28th, 2008
  • 2:47 pm

Safaricom, Kenya’s largest cellular operator in terms of subscribers, has reported a 29.3% rise in full-year revenues to KES61.4 billion (USD906.5 million). Net profit for the twelve months to the end of March was up 15.3% at KES13.85 billion, while EBITDA rose 14.9% to KES28.16 billion. Safaricom claimed 10.2 million customers at the end of March, a 68% year-on-year increase. The firm’s CEO Michael Joseph told an investor briefing that Safaricom aims to continue its push to grow its subscriber base while also investing in improving network capacity and coverage. The government is busy floating a 25% stake in Safaricom, with shares due to be listed on the Nairobi stock exchange on 9 June. A further 40% interest is held by Vodafone Kenya, which is majority owned by Vodafone of the UK; the remaining 35% stake is still state-owned.

   

 

 

 

 

 

Safaricom launches mobile TV (Kenya)

  • April 30th, 2008
  • 2:07 pm

Kenya’s largest cellular operator by subscribers, Safaricom, has launched the country’s first mobile TV service. Under a partnership with pay-TV operator DSTV and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, customers can access ten local channels plus content from international broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC. At launch services are available only to customers in the capital, Nairobi. With a DVB-H handset priced at KES25,000 (USD388) and monthly subscription charges set at KES1,000, subscriber take-up is likely to be slow, for the time being at least.

   

 

Safaricom awarded 3G licence ( Kenya)

  • October 22nd, 2007
  • 7:03 am

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has awarded a 3G licence to former monopoly operator Safaricom, for a payment of USD25 million. The regulator has assured Safaricom’s rivals, Celtel Kenya and Econet Wireless International Kenya that there is enough spectrum available if they wish to apply for a concession of their own. ‘By rolling out 3G, Safaricom shall now be able to extend its range of services to include high speed data communications such as mobile internet access, mobile video conferencing and videophone,’ said John Waweru, CCK’s head honcho. Safaricom executive Michael Joseph said that he expects some UMTS services to be launched as soon as next month.

Safaricom is 60%-owned by the state, and 40%-owned by holding company Vodafone Kenya. The UK’s Vodafone Group holds 87.5% of Vodafone Kenya, giving it a 35% indirect stake in Safaricom, with 12.5% of Vodafone Kenya held by mysterious Guernsey-registered firm Mobitelea Ventures. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database it is the market leader by a country mile, with close to seven million subscribers at the end of June this year, a 75% market share. Kuwaiti-owned Celtel has the remainder; Econet has yet to launch services, having only been cleared by the CCK to operate in July 2007, and is planning to do so early next year.

   
 

Safaricom awarded 3G licence (Kenya)

  • October 19th, 2007
  • 2:19 pm

Kenya’s largest mobile service provider Safaricom has been granted a 3G licence by the country’s regulator, the Communication Commission of Kenya. CCK director general John Waweru assured other mobile operators that there is enough spectrum for other operators willing to employ the same technology in the country. The licence fee will be USD 25 million per applicant. Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the company would start the 3G roll-out in November.

   

Safaricom IPO on again as legal challenge dismissed (Kenya)

  • October 5th, 2007
  • 3:18 pm

A judge in Kenya has dismissed an attempt to block the government’s planned sale of a 25% share in cellco Safaricom. The suit lodged in Nairobi’s High Court said the government had ‘refused to give a full disclosure of the ownership of Safaricom and the sums received or not received in various transactions constituting its current shareholding’. Justice Nyamu argued that the government had not done anything illegal that would warrant cancellation of the initial public offer (IPO). He noted that although the government was ‘selling the family silver’, it was entitled to do so ‘with finality and without interference in order to realise maximum public benefits’. The ruling now means that the IPO, possibly Kenya’s largest ever sell-off, will go ahead as planned by the end of the year, with the government expecting to net about KES30 billion (USD451.6 million). Safaricom is 60%-owned by the state, and 40%-owned by holding company Vodafone Kenya. The UK’s Vodafone Group holds 87.5% of Vodafone Kenya, giving it a 35% indirect stake in Safaricom, with 12.5% of Vodafone Kenya held by mysterious Guernsey-registered firm Mobitelea Ventures.

   

 

Telkom Kenya applies for mobile licence (Kenya)

  • October 3rd, 2007
  • 12:50 pm

Fixed-line operator Telkom Kenya has applied for a mobile licence. A notice in the official Kenya Gazette from the Communications Commission of Kenya announced the application and set a deadline of 60 says for public comments, from 21 September, writes the East African Standard. Telkom Kenya already offers a fixed wireless service using CDMA technology. The incumbent would compete on the mobile market with Safaricom, Celtel and Econet, which has just received a licence and has yet to roll out services.

   

Safaricom IPO faces further challenge (Kenya)

  • September 25th, 2007
  • 1:06 pm

Three opposition members of Kenya’s parliament are suing the government for failing to disclose the true ownership of state-backed cellular operator Safaricom prior to its planned initial public offering (IPO). The suit lodged in Nairobi’s High Court says the government ‘has refused to give a full disclosure of the ownership of Safaricom and the sums received or not received in various transactions constituting its current shareholding’.

Until earlier this year it had been thought that Vodafone of the UK held a 40% stake in Safaricom, with the government retaining 60%, but investigations found that the 40% stake is actually owned by a holding company, Vodafone Kenya. Vodafone Group has 87.5% of Vodafone Kenya, giving it a 35% indirect stake in Safaricom, with 12.5% of Vodafone Kenya held by mysterious Guernsey-registered firm Mobitelea Ventures. The government is planning to sell off 25% of Safaricom by the end of this year in what could be Kenya’s largest ever IPO.

   

 

Government promises IPO by year-end (Kenya)

  • September 19th, 2007
  • 2:54 pm

The Kenyan government has played down speculation that its initial public offering (IPO) of shares in the country’s largest cellular operator, Safaricom, will not occur before the end of the year. Press reports had claimed that the forthcoming general election could lead to the sale being postponed until next year, but finance minister Amos Kimunya has told The Standard that the IPO should be completed ‘before Christmas’. The government has a 60% stake in Safaricom and is offloading 25% in the IPO. The deal is expected to become the largest IPO on the Nairobi stock exchange.

   

 

 

Safaricom IPO faces delays (Kenya)

  • September 17th, 2007
  • 12:41 pm

Reports from Kenya suggest the government’s planned initial public offer (IPO) of shares in the country’s largest cellular operator, Safaricom, could be pushed back to 2008. The state has just chosen investment bank Dyer & Blair to act as advisor to the sale but has still to formally award the contract. Local commentators suggest that carrying out the rest of the IPO process will take at least twelve weeks, taking the sale into a key electioneering period and thus running the risk that it becomes over-politicised. Local newspaper The East African says Safaricom shareholder Vodafone has already expressed its concerns over the timing of the sale in a letter to Kenya’s Minister of Finance. The government is offloading a 25% stake in Safaricom, leaving it with 35%; the remaining 40% is held by Vodafone Kenya, which is itself owned by Vodafone of the UK (87.5%) and Mobitelea Ventures (12.5%).