Local technology and telecommunications company Allied Technologies (Altech) is working on an IT-based deal in China.
The company has been on an aggressive global expansion campaign and has stepped up its growth targets for African businesses in Nigeria and East Africa. A deal in China would be a coup for the company, and Altech would join many locally-based businesses, like MTN, that are looking farther east to catch growth opportunities.
Altech CEO Craig Venter is reluctant to provide details on the possible Chinese deal; however, he says the company plans to make an announcement as soon as the details have been ironed out.
The JSE-listed business is not limiting itself to the Chinese market. “We are focusing on the BRIC [Brazil, India, Russia and China] countries for expansion,” explains Venter. He says the company's Netstar division is already hard at work to get an operation off the ground in Brazil.
Brazil is another popular expansion target for local businesses, along with Mexico and other emerging markets in South America.
More for Africa
Despite moves to target global emerging markets, the company still has plans to grow its operations in Africa.
Venter says the firm has prepaid deals with all six of the operators in the country and churns out 100 million prepaid vouchers a month. It has also built a factory in the country, which was a stipulation by Nigeria's government for companies selling prepaid.
Altech will now look into providing SIM cards to its portfolio of products in Nigeria, and Venter says there may still be room for other businesses under the Altech banner to grow within the state.
Still going strong
On top of its successes with growth targets, Altech's investment in the undersea cable, Seacom, seems to already be paying off.
According to Venter, the company has seen profit to the tune of R65 million since it signed a contract with the undersea business. Coupled with the explosive growth in its Kenya-based business, its infrastructure investment is reaping the financial rewards.
Altech has also begun the construction of a $10 million data centre in Kenya, which Venter says will be operational by September.
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