Ending more than two years of speculation, the Mozambican government has reportedly announced it will not sell shares in Mocambique Celular SARL (mcel).
The minister of transport and communication, Paulo Zucula, told local newspaper O Pais the…
Ending more than two years of speculation, the Mozambican government has reportedly announced it will not sell shares in Mocambique Celular SARL (mcel).
The minister of transport and communication, Paulo Zucula, told local newspaper O Pais the government had ruled out the possibility of privatising the company – the nation’s largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers.
Following Zucula’s May 2009 announcement to local media that the government might sell a 5% stake in the company, it attracted interest from both local and offshore investors, including Portuguese telecoms giant Portugal Telecom.
Other reports quoted Zucula as saying that he hoped the new announcement would dissuade potential suitors.
Instead, he urged those interested in entering the local wireless market to submit plans to set up new ventures.
State-owned mcel, Vodafone-owned Vodacom Mozambique and Viettel unit Movitel are currently the only three operators with mobile licences in the country.
Portugal Telecom’s US$29m bid for the third licence was passed over in favour of Movitel’s US$28.2m bid in November 2010.
