By Kemo Cham
The global telecommunications giant Orange maybe on its way into the Sierra Leone’s market, as reports have indicated it`s in talks to secure the license of the mobile operator Airtel in the country.
Bharti Airtel, the Indian parent company of the Sierra Leone subsidiary, is said to be seeking to sell off its stake in four African countries. Orange, owned by France Télécom, said in a statement that it was looking at acquiring businesses in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone, as part of plans to expand its influence in the emerging market.
“Orange and Airtel have entered into an exclusive agreement to explore the possible acquisition by Orange of Airtel’s subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone,” the French conglomerate said in the a statement on Monday.
“There is no certainty of any binding agreement as a result of these discussions,” it added.
Just last June Airtel was ranked the third largest mobile operator in the world, in terms of subscribers, according to data published by the World Cellular Information Service. It indicates that Bharti Airtel, with over 303 million mobile subscribers across its operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa, moved up one position in the global rankings, behind China Mobile and the British owned Vodafone.
In Africa Airtel is ranked among the ten top networks, amongst the likes of South Africa`s MTN, the largest operator on the continent.
Airtel entered into the African market in 2010 after buying the assets of Zain Telecom in a $10 billion deal. But the Indian conglomerate has been struggling to revive its operations on the continent in the face of stiff competitions where it operates.
In Sierra Leone, it faces strong challenge from the high spending and fast growing Lebanese-owned Africell.
The Indian media cites the company`s executives as insisting that this move is "not a pullout, but rather attempts to focus on more important, bigger and strategic markets."
"We want a focused approach and these steps help us in doing that," the Times of Indian quoted an executive who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Globally Orange is present in 29 countries and the group has a total customer base of 247 million worldwide. In Africa it operates in 14 territories, including Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya and Tunisia.
According to market analysis, the four countries where Airtel`s assets are been sold off represent between 10 and 12% of the estimated 76 million subscribers it has on the continent.
If the deal goes through, Orange is poised to bring into the Sierra Leonean market not just a new face but a multitude of innovations, notably a mobile money solution that has helped customers conduct mobile payments between mobile phones.
Orange also boasts of an extensive submarine cable connecting Africa to other mainland continents, covering about 450, 000km of cable.
The spokesperson for Airtel in Sierra Leone, Junrose Johnson, confirmed they were aware of Orange’s bid, but would not comment further.
Deputy Information Minister Theo Nicol had not heard of the news before he was contacted on the phone yesterday while in London where he is currently on a visit. But Mr Nicol told Politico that even if the deal was true, as at that stage they did not expect to be informed as it was a private business.
“Private businesses are not under any obligation to inform government about such businesses,” he said, adding that when it comes to paper work like licensing they (government) will be needed.
(C) Politico 23/07/15
