Airtel Nigeria stands by its new name

On 12.01.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Airtel Nigeria has defended its decision to change the name Zain Nigeria.

According to Chairman and Managing Director, Sunil Bharti Mittal, the new brand identity gives the company the opportunity to present a single, powerful and unified face to customers, stakeholders and partners around the world.

He added that the new brand identity reinforces Airtel’s promise to deliver innovative services and a superior brand experience to their 200 million customers across Asia and Africa. Now the brand is modern, vibrant and friendly.

Apart from Nigeria, Airtel has operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

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Bharti Airtel plans to expand network in Nigeria

On 11.26.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Bharti Airtel’s Group Chairman, Sunil Mittal, the new owners of Zain Nigeria has unveiled that new applications; lower tariffs and rural connections would identify the entrance of the company into the Nigerian market and Africa in general.

India’s largest network Bharti Airtel had taken over the African operations of Zain in a $10.7 billion deal earlier this year.

According to Mittal, the new owners are in Nigeria to do things differently from how they have been done. Bharti Airtel has been trying to enter the African market in the last 13 years, and the company understands the nuances of the market.

According to him, the company will take the network into the deepest parts of the country. They will take it to where networks had never been and will not compromise on quality while doing this, but will do things the way the communities want them to do.

As per the Chairman of Airtel Nigeria, Oba Otudeko, Airtel would make an initial investment of $2 billion into the Nigerian business in the next few years. Otudeko called on Nigerian to continue depending on the telecom provider assuring that the change from Zain to Airtel would be the last one that the company will witness.

The company began operation in Nigeria in 2001 as Econet Nigeria. It is one of the four telecom companies that won the GSM license auction by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC). The company has since its entry into Nigeria witnessed change of name for five times.

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Bharti board approves $9 billion Zain deal (India)

On 03.22.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After the approval of the Bharti’s bid for $9 billion purchase of Zain’s African wireless assets by its Board, the company is planning to make a formal offer this week. Both Bharti and Zain are under exclusive talks till March 25, for the completion of the deal that will give Bharti an access to 42 million new subscribers in 15 African countries.

Bharti has sought overseas businesses as competition at home has reduced call rates for many of its 122 million Indian subscribers to as little as half a U.S. cent a minute.

Zain at the same time has been asked to provide legal protection from a dispute in Nigeria.  Econet Wireless Holdings Ltd., based in a suburb of Johannesburg, is disputing control of Zain’s unit in Nigeria. The Nigerian operations have been described by Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal as the most important piece of its planned purchase.

A 2006 deal is seeked to be overturned by Econet in which Celtel bought a 65 percent stake in Nigerian mobile operator Vmobile, since renamed Zain Nigeria.

Airtel posted its biggest gain since November 30 adding 3.9 percent on March 19 to close at 311.90 rupees in Mumbai trading.

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Zain’s legal dispute with Nigerian assets might delay Bharti deal

On 03.06.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The pending legal dispute over the ownership of Zain on its Nigerian assets might lead to the delay in the selling of the African assets by the company to Indian telco, Bharti Airtel. Econet Wireless Holdings and Zain have been undergoing a long dispute and the former has claimed a right of first refusal when a collection of shareholders sold their stakes to Zain in 2006.

5% of Vee Mobile which trades as Zain Nigeria is still owned by Econet and since the sale of the network first suggested back in 2003, it has been fighting attempts to bypass its claimed rights to buy out shareholders. In 2003 itself, due to Econet’s pressure, South Africa’s Vodacom retreat its decision to buy a controlling stake in the company.

After that, Delta State and First Bank along with various shareholders sold their stakes to Celtel Wireless which is now a Zain subsidiary, in September 2005 and since then the sale has been in dispute ever.

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Zain Nigeria dispute to affect Bharti buy out

On 02.23.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Minority shareholder Broad Communications Ltd, which owns 14% share in Zain Nigeria, will seek to enforce its rights in any potential transfer of ownership in the company. The announcement came after Bharti Airtel entered into exclusive talks with Zain until March 25 to buy most of Kuwait-based Mobile Telecommunications Co. or Zain’s assets in Africa in a deal that could be worth up to $10.7 billion.

According to the largest minority shareholder in Zain Nigeria, Broad, the company has not been formally informed by the Zain Group of its intention to sell its 65% shareholding in the Nigerian entity and the company intend to fully exercise its pre-emption rights as directed by the courts and as guided by the company’s shareholders’ agreements entered into between the company’s shareholders.

The dispute over ownership of the largest unit in Nigeria might disrupt Bharti’s third attempt to enter the African market. Econent Wireless Holdings Ltd., a South African telecommunications company is attempting to overturn a 2006 deal in which Celtel, now known as Zain, bought a controlling 65% of the business that had been founded at the beginning of that decade by a group of government, institutional and private investors.

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Motorola, Zain to expand GSM network in rural Nigeria

On 02.04.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A multi-million dollar deal has been signed between Kuwaiti telecoms group Zain and US-based equipment vendors Motorola to expand mobile coverage and capacity and enhance service quality in rural and neglected regions of Nigeria.

Improved data services will be provided to the mobile users after this expansion project slated for completion in early 2010. According to Alain Sainte-Marie, CEO of Zain Nigeria, this expansion to rural areas throughout the country will have a positive impact on the economic and social well-being of these communities.

Zain is the country’s third largest telco by subscribers representing a market share of 22.2% and reporting a total of 14.94 million customers at September 30, 2009.

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Econet Wireless rebranded as Zain in Nigeria (Nigeria)

On 08.05.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Nigerian’s Telecommunication company which was originally known as Econet Wireless is rebranded as Zain. According to a Analyst, the company wants the recognition in the global market. Zain Nigeria Ltd Chief Executive Officer, CEO Mr Adebayo Ligali, said the decision to rebrand was informed by the company’s determination to establish a global brand which would drive efficiency across their targeted market, create brand equity and improve the shareholders. “The rebranding to Zain underlines our ambition to become a top ten global mobile telecommunications company by 2011, building on our heritage and successes in Africa and the Middle East. A strong, distinctive brand name has always been the prerequisite for any company with global aspiration.

The company aspires to make the Zain brand a top 100 global brand.The brand is part of a process that began when the Zain group bought Celtel in 2005. Since then, we have been developing a new brand and company identity which could apply to all our group markets and which would be relevant and exciting to all our customers regardless of where they live,” he further added.

However, the company is now well positioned to offer the customers more innovative products and services with best network services across Africa and the middle East, adding that the customers will now readily benefit from a respected and recognized global brand that provides them with consistent qualitative service, Ligali, said Plans to expand the comapny to all their operational networks in Africa , this will allow the customers to move across geographical borders without roaming calls surcharge and without having to pay to receive incoming calls, he added.

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