Ethiopia: MTN Group will not apply for the second telecoms license
August 15th 2021
The Ethiopian telecoms market will ultimately not be the subject of a new battle between the Orange and MTN groups. The South African company, disappointed by the failure of its first attempt to enter the country, has decided to no longer pay attention to it and to focus on transforming its current markets.
MTN Group throws in the towel in Ethiopia. When presenting its financial results for the first half of 2021 on Thursday, August 12, the telecoms company officially declared that it will not participate in the battle for the country’s second telecoms license. The launch of the sale procedure for this new telecoms resource is also scheduled for this month of August, according to the Ethiopian government, which has invited unsuccessful candidates for the acquisition of the first telecoms license to again express their interest.
“ The group has decided not to participate in the new liberalization processes underway in Ethiopia, and we thank the Ethiopian government for the opportunity to have been part of the previous process. We also thank the partners that we had in our unsuccessful license offer , ”said MTN Group.
The decision taken by the South African group in relation to Ethiopia is in line with its Ambition 2025 strategy, initiated at the start of the year, focused on increased operational efficiency. The company, which gets rid of assets that are too expensive in the long term and also avoids high-risk investments, is also pleased with the positive results already recorded. Thanks to the concentration of its attention on its core business of service, improvement of the network which has an impact on the activities of its subsidiaries, the disposal of several assets, in particular that of Belgacom International Carrier Services, debt The company’s value rose from Rand 43.3 billion (USD 2.9 billion) to Rand 36.7 billion.
By the end of the year, this debt could be reduced further. MTN Group which posts revenue of 86.673 trillion rand in the first half of 2021, up 3.09% compared to the same period in 2020 (driven by the activities of South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana), decided to withdraw from Syria. Its withdrawal from Yemen and Afghanistan is also underway.
Source: Agence Ecofin and MTN Group report
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