Egypt rejects Mobinil bid appeal

An Egyptian appeals committee has rejected a request by Orascom Telecom that the regulator block France Telecom's latest bid to buy all of Mobinil shares, states Reuters.

France Telecom subsidiary Orange Participations earlier this month offered 245 Egyptian pounds (R327) for each share in Mobinil, Egypt's biggest mobile firm by subscribers.

Orascom argues that France Telecom should have offered 273 pounds (R364); equivalent to a price set by an Egyptian court in last year. If market heavyweight Orascom were to sell its shares, it could net more than $1.6 billion.

Etisalat is set to expand its international footprint this year as it explores opportunities in Africa and the Middle East, says The National.

Etisalat is aiming to have the fastest mobile network in the Middle East after upgrading its mobile broadband service to a rate of 21Mbps this week. JP Morgan estimates Etisalat has more than $16.4 billion in financial headroom for mergers and acquisitions.

The telco giant is seeking to acquire assets in at least two countries in Africa and a mobile phone licence in Syria, according to Essa al Haddad, the Etisalat group chief marketing officer.

The Zimbabwean technology minister, Nelson Chamisa, reveals that the troubled country is on a technological revolution path as improvements are made to Zimbabwe's infrastructure, reports IT News Africa.

Chamisa says his ministry has boosted the telecommunications penetration rate to 22% from 11% at the beginning of the year.

Mobile network giant, Econet Wireless, introduced a 3G network in August last year. Also, Broadhorn Capital venture capitalist claims it's investing in fibre optic network technology in Zimbabwe.