Celtel plans to invest $70m for its network (Zambia)An effort to boost the subscriber base from 2.3 million to 2.7 million, Celtel Zambia has announced plans to spend some $70 million on its network. The firm reported net profit for the 6 months rose to $34.3 million compared to $29.9 million in the same period last year.
The company, which controlled by Zain, offered 20% of its stock for the floatation. The sale was three-times oversubscribed from both domestic and overseas investors. The current shareholder profile is 78.9% held by Zain - via Celtel International, 20% in free float and 1.1% held by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
“Customer numbers exceeded 2.3 million in June. We are optimistic we will reach our target of 2.7 million, said Celtel Zambia MD David Venn. High taxes on imports of network infrastructure kit of 25% is hampering the company’s plans warned Venn. The company is lobbying the government to have this tax lowered, and also on licenses for 3G services.
Statistics shows that Celtel ended last year with just under 2 million customers - and a market share of nearly 78%. The country itself has a population penetration level of just 21% and two other operators, Zamtel and MTN.
