Costa Rica’s state-run electricity and telecoms provider ICE is interested in becoming a strategic partner in Honduras’ troubled incumbent operator Hondutel.
Hondutel’s CEO Jesus Mejia was quoted as saying that a delegation from ICE would be…
Costa Rica’s state-run electricity and telecoms provider ICE is interested in becoming a strategic partner in Honduras’ troubled incumbent operator Hondutel.
Hondutel’s CEO Jesus Mejia was quoted as saying that a delegation from ICE would be visiting the government-owned operator this week and was seriously considering investing in the company.
Mejia added that the stake ICE acquired would depend on how much it was willing to invest in Hondutel, according to a report in local newspaper La Tribuna.
The Honduran government had planned to sell off a 51% stake in the operator to a private company, retaining 22.5%, distributing 22.5% to employees, and listing the final 4%. At the start of March, local press reports suggested Israeli and French companies were willing to inject as much as US$50m into Hondutel, but nothing has materialised.
Earlier reports suggested the operator owed its employees US$96m, its suppliers another US$40m, and had contingent liabilities of up to US$125m.
Previous attempts to privatise Hondutel have been blocked by the company’s trade union. The company has been looking to cut its workforce and clean up its business after years of alleged corruption and financial mismanagement.
ICE currently operates Kolbi, Costa Rica’s dominant mobile player.
