Johannesburg, 23 Oct 2006
Vodafone, Telkom`s 50% partner in Vodacom, has agreed in principle to amend the shareholder agreement to allow Vodacom to expand into other regions, says Telkom.
Telkom will meet with Vodafone this week to discuss how to amend the agreement, Telkom chairman Nomasizi Mtshotshisa said at the company`s annual general meeting on Friday.
She added that Telkom had already drafted a new shareholder proposal, but would not provide further details as to what would be covered in the meeting.
While Vodacom is SA`s biggest mobile operator, it has fallen behind rival MTN on a global basis, due to the constraints posed by the shareholder agreement. As a result, MTN now operates in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East, and recently announced it is ready to begin operations in Iran, in December.
Exceptions with regard to Vodacom`s expansion plans were, in the past, made on a case-by-case basis, as shown by the mobile operator`s attempted bid for 51% shareholding in Nigeria`s V-Mobile.
The amendment will remove impediments to Vodacom`s growth, Mtshotshisa said.
She added that Telkom had previously initiated informal discussions with Vodafone to purchase its Vodacom stake. However, Vodafone would not sell.
Too little, too late?
Asked if Vodacom has been freed from restrictions too late to take advantage of greenfield opportunities on the African continent, Richard Hurst, BMI-TechKnowledge analyst, says new GSM mobile licences will be scare in Africa as the continent enters the next wave of mobile communications. This next wave is likely to be based on the emergence of the converged or unified licensing regimes.
"However, larger network operators are expected to embark on a strategy of growth via acquisition, as we have seen in the instance of MTN and Celtel," he says.
Additionally, greenfield licences or operations will emerge with new technolgies and services, such as wireless broadband and voice over IP services, but this remains an unkown entity, in an embryonic stage, he adds.
Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offer excellent opportunities, Hurst says.
"The DRC and Angola represent fresh opportunities as they have little in the way of infrastructure, yet a high demand for services," he says. "The two countries also appear to be moving toward political stability, which should bode well for their economies."
Vodacom CEO Allan Knott-Craig previously stated that Vodacom was frequently asked to participate in bids in various countries.
"The Middle East, North Africa and South America have good opportunities and we look forward to the day when we can have a go at these opportunities," he said.
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