Grupo Iusacell files for bankruptcy again (Mexico)
Grupo Iusacell, struggling Mexican mobile network operator, has filed for pre-arranged bankruptcy and is looking for a second restructuring of its debt with creditors in just four years.
A judge may rule on whether to instigate bankruptcy proceedings next week, Gricelda Nieblas, head of the Federal Institute of Bankruptcy Specialists, a part of the judicial branch.
Billionaire owner, Salinas Pliego acquired 74% of Iusacell in 2003 for $7.4 million from Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, assuming the debt in the process, but has struggled since then to turn the company around and has previously restructured the debt to reduce its servicing costs on the company.
The company delisted from the Mexican stock exchange at the start of this year. The company hasn’t reported any financial results since then, although its last financial statement confirmed that its subscriber base reached 3.6 million at the end of 2009.
British Telecom to increase China operations
As per the managing director for British Telecom in the region, Kevin Taylor, British Telecom (BT) is planning to build more service centers in China, the world’s biggest mobile phone market, and to employ 300 staff in the Asia-Pacific region in the next 11 months.
According to Kevin Taylor, the company considered to expand their business in China partly due to it has more than 80% customers are investing in Asian countries, such as China.
Taylor made the remarks after his company’s British rival, Vodafone Group, announced on Sept 8 that it will offload its entire 3.2% shareholding in China’s biggest carrier, China Mobile, for $6.6 billion. The move is part of the company’s new push to shed its minority assets around the world. In addition, BT will strengthen its partnership with China Unicom (Hong Kong)
According to Chief Information Officer Clive Selley, on Sep. 11; BT announced that it will meet officials from China Telecom Corp Ltd to explore potential cooperation.
BT’s China operations are focused on serving business users, especially multinationals’ operations, which need globally networked services, such as virtual private networks.
Telecom Egypt mulling over MVNO option
Telecom Egypt (TE), the landline monopoly in the North African country, is reported to be considering the creation of an MVNO operation, having failed to buy Vodafone Group’s majority share in Vodafone Egypt earlier in 2010.
If reports are to be believed, TE is looking to increase its exposure to the mobile sector in order to offset losses in its core fixed operations, which were attributed to customers substituting mobile for fixed lines.
TE had earlier this year looked to increase its stake in Vodafone Egypt, but Vodafone Group, ended negotiations in June 2010 over a possible disinvestment of interest in its Egyptian subsidiary little more than two weeks after the parties first began discussions.
Verizon CEO envisions future in Verizon Wireless dividend
According to the head of the majority owner of Verizon Wireless specified that the wireless venture would pay a dividend once it has reduced its net debt in line with its cash flow levels.
Verizon Communications, which has 55% ownership and operational control of the venture, has privileged using Verizon Wireless cash to reduce the venture’s debt load instead of paying its parents a dividend. However, this has disturbed the shareholders in Vodafone Group, a 45% owner of Verizon Wireless.
Verizon Chief Executive Officer Ivan Seidenberg told a Goldman Sachs conference that he sees that situation changing.
According to him, as the business generates cash and Verizon reach a point where net debt gets closer to about a balance, then a distribution of cash to the owners is probably the right thing to do. The company doesn’t have any problem with that.
Colao had rejected speculation that Verizon and Vodafone could merge and claimed that a Verizon Wireless dividend or a split of the joint venture were the most likely options.
Orascom to bid for 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Orascom Telecom has announced that it will bid for 55 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt if Vodafone Group put it up for sale. According to Orascom chairman Naguib Sawiris, Orascom would strongly compete for the stake if Vodafone decides to sell.
Telecom Egypt controls the remaining 45 percent of Vodafone Egypt. Analysts have estimated the value of Vodafone’s 55 percent to be around GBP 3 billion (USD 4.36 billion).
Sprint’s better health good for the USA telecom sector: Verizon CEO
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Sprint Nextel recovery and stabilization has been hailed as a positive sign for the telecom industry by rival Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Lowell McAdam. Sprint came out to be the most aggressive of all the national operators in cutting the price of its service plans, on both the postpaid and prepaid ends.
But now the scene seems to have taken a positive turn with the telco reaching a state of stability suggesting that there will be fewer cuts down the line. Even though the Sprint had become very competitive, the overall porting ratios of the Verizon Wireless or the amount of customers coming versus leaving with their cellphone numbers have remained positive.
Verizon Wireless has expanded its presence in the area through reseller agreements despite having a limited direct position in prepaid. It has been revealed by the company that the margins for resellers are as good, if not better, than its traditional postpaid business and McAdam also added that he was not every captivated with the idea of bringing its brand down to the prepaid level. Concern has been raised by the CEO over unlimited data plans going away while addressing the growing demand for data services.
He opined that the introduction of fourth-generation, or 4G could change the price of the data plans and noted that consumer could have multiple products connected to the cellular network. He also expressed his disappointment in the Federal Communications Commission report that omitted the conclusion that the industry was effectively competitive. According to him, the FCC’s proposal to more heavily regulate the Internet industry could be dangerous to the overall health of the industry and the plans won’t curb its investment in 4G.
Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC together own Verizon Wireless in the USA.
Vodafone sale review completed (Ghana)
Ghanawww.WirelessFederation.com/news: As per the committee set up by the government of Ghana, they have to review last year’s sale of 70% of national PTO Ghana Telecom (GT) to the UK’s Vodafone Group has completed its report and handed its findings to the Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu. He said that the state’s decision on the Vodafone sale would most likely have ‘major ramifications on foreign investment in the country’, the government felt compelled to place public interest above all other considerations in deciding future decisions concerning the sale.
China Mobile, Larger Than Vodafone, May Say Net Rose (Update2)
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — China Mobile Ltd., the world’s largest cellular operator by market value, may report a 23 percent gain in second-quarter profit after adding a record number of subscribers.
The Beijing-based company, which overtook Vodafone Group Plc as the world’s largest mobile company by market capitalization last month, will report net income rose to 15.7 billion yuan ($2 billion) from 12.8 billion yuan a year earlier, according to the median estimate of six analysts in a Bloomberg survey. China Mobile is scheduled to report earnings tomorrow after the 4 p.m.market close in
Hong Kong.
Chief Executive Wang Jianzhou raised revenue by offering a wider range of wireless phone services such as movie and video downloads and targeting the more than 900 million people living in
China’s rural areas. The mobile operator added 13.1 million users in the second quarter, gaining a record number for three straight months to June.
“With the continued growth of subscribers and strong growth of data revenue,” earnings will keep rising, said Mandy Chan, who helps manage $1 billion at ABN Amro Asset Management Ltd. in Hong Kong, including China Mobile shares.
China Mobile attracted users after it received approval from the telecommunication regulator to cut rates and offer cheaper monthly packages for cell-phone users in
Beijingstarting May. The operator also reduced international roaming charges in the provinces of
Sichuanand
Zhejiang.
The phone operator is expected to report half-year profit rose to 30.2 billion yuan from 24 billion yuan a year earlier, analysts said.
Share Price China Mobile’s market capitalization on July 11 was $132 billion, compared with Newbury, England-based Vodafone’s $110 billion. The Chinese company’s shares have risen 38 percent this year, compared with a 23 percent decline in Vodafone stock.
“The share price reflects the market’s view of the prospects of the companies in the future,” Francis Cheung, an analyst at CLSA Ltd., said. “There’s more growth potential in
Chinathan in
Europe, where the market is more mature.” China Mobile, which lags behind Vodafone and
Japan’s NTT Docomo Inc. in sales, may say second-quarter revenue rose to 69.4 billion from 59.6 billion yuan a year earlier.
The company, which offers global system for mobile communications, or GSM, services, gained 25.8 million subscribers in the first six months of the year for a total of 273.8 million, about two-thirds of the nation’s mobile-phone users. That’s more than Vodafone’s 186.8 million users and Docomo’s 51.9 million combined by the end of July.
User Revenue China Unicom Ltd., the country’s second-largest mobile operator, offers services using both the GSM and code division multiple access standards. Unicom had a total of 135.1 million users at the end of June. China Mobile’s average revenue per customer, or ARPU, an industry measure of the size of a phone bill, probably remained unchanged in the second quarter from a year earlier, and up from the previous quarter, analysts said.
We expect China Mobile’s ARPU to be driven by higher usage and wireless data contribution,” Kelvin Ho, an analyst at Nomura International (
Hong Kong) Ltd. said. Ho estimates China Mobile’s ARPU will be about 90 yuan in the second quarter, unchanged from a year earlier, and up from 86 yuan in the previous quarter. Usage per subscriber probably rose 10.8 percent from a year earlier to 363 minutes per month. Chief Executive Wang, 57, is boosting revenue from new businesses such as short message services, ringtone downloads and wireless services such as emails and games.
Data Services New businesses from such wireless data services may account for 23 percent of revenue in the first six months, compared with 19.7 percent a year earlier, Ho said. Competition also eased as fixed-line phone network operators China Telecom Corp. and China Network Communications Group Corp., slowed promotions of a city-wide cordless service called Little Smart, which has cheaper rates than for cellular calls, as they prepare for the government’s issuing of high-speed wireless licenses.
Chinahasn’t set a timetable for granting licenses for 3G services, which allow subscribers to video conference and download movies faster on their handsets. The Ministry of Information Industry on Jan. 20 said it has adopted the locally developed time division synchronous code division multiple access standard as one of the so-called third- generation services. “A 3G license could be further delayed into second half 2007, which implies the 2007 could be another safe year for China Mobile, and the company could still deliver stellar results until the beginning of 2008,” Wang Jinjin, an analyst at UBS Securities Co. said in a report. China Mobile shares rose 1.5 percent to HK$52.10 as of middayin
Hong Kong, after gaining as much as 1.7 percent earlier.
Source- http://www.bloomberg.com
Technorati : China Mobile, GSM, Hong Kong, Vodafone
Ice Rocket : China Mobile, GSM, Hong Kong, Vodafone
