Millicom to exit Asia totally by Q1 of 2010. Sells Laos share to Vimpelcom for $66 Million.
Millicom has agreed to sell its GSM business in Laos to Russia’s VimpelCom and has bidders lining up for its Sri Lankan operations, the sale of which will end Millicom’s activities in Asia. VimpelCom will pay about $66 million for Millicom’s 78 percent stake in Millicom Lao Co. Ltd.
Last month Millicom agreed to sell its 58.4 percent share in CamGSM, Royal Telecam International, and Cambodia Broadcasting to its Cambodian partner, The Royal Group, for $346 million in cash.
That leaves just Sri Lanka from Milicom’s Asian portfolio, and its operations there are also up for grabs. Millicom is the sole owner of Celltel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. It was the first mobile operator in Sri Lanka. Mobitel and Tigo both claim to be the second largest. Dialog GSM is the country’s largest operator.
Indian State owned, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), UAE’s Etisalat, Malaysia’s Axiata Group and India’s Bharti are also said to be bidding to acquire Tigo Lanka.
Axiata’s Dialog and Airtel already operate in Sri Lanka. Airtel winning the bid might sit better with the regulator since Axiata winning it would give Dialog an overwhelming position in the market.
Millicom expects to exit Asia Q1 of 2010. At the end of the first quarter, Millicom had a total of just over 4.5 million subscribers in Asia. Millicom’s Asian Revenues for 2008 are at $262 million with an EBDITA of $101.5 million. This is a year-on-year increases of 24.4 percent and 27.5 percent respectively.VimpelCom will pay approx $66 million for Millicom’s 78 percent stake in Millicom Lao Co. Ltd.
Dialog Telekom partners Ericsson in 3G rollout
Telegeography writes…Sri Lanka’s mobile market leader Dialog Telekom has chosen Ericsson as its lead contractor in building out its 3G network. According to the operator, its W-CDMA network, the first on the island and in the South Asian region, will include ‘100% core network from Ericsson apart from majority of radio access network’. Dialog launched commercial 3G services in Colombo in August 2006. Earlier that month it paid around USD5 million for its 3G spectrum, as did the country’s three other cellcos, Celltel Lanka, Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka and Mobitel Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s mobile market is set to become more competitive this year with the auction of a fifth GSM licence. Indian mobile heavyweights Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications are in the race for the concession, estimated to be worth around USD4 million, but these two will have to beat bids from Malaysia’s Maxis Communications and Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel).
