Vivendi eyes Zain

Vivendi has confirmed its interest in acquiring a majority stake in Zain Group's Africa telecommunications businesses in line with its strategy of seeking growth in emerging countries, reports the Daily Nation.

The confirmation comes after weeks of speculation during which both firms have remained tight-lipped about any deal-making talks. The company said this acquisition would enable Vivendi to capitalise on its experience in the region's mobile telephony market.

Zain operates in 16 countries in Africa, including Kenya, and six in the Middle East. Zain Kenya is the second largest mobile company in Kenya.

HP has decided to establish a Global Support Centre in Tunis, Tunisia, according to IT News Africa.

It will open during the first half of 2010 and it is predicted that the venture will create up to 800 new jobs over the coming years.

Construction of the HP Centre in Tunis is under way and upon completion, HP says it will combine its existing sales, marketing and software support operations in the new facility. HP has been working closely with the Tunisian Ministry of Telecommunications to complete the project.

Within the next three to five years, the African telecommunications market is expected to continue at a growth rate faster than any other region, says ChairmanKing.com.

Business advisory firm Ernst & Young says in its first African telecommunications study that voice services were likely to remain the largest contributor to operator revenues in the medium-term, but that data could start playing a much more important role.

Co-leader of Ernst & Young's Global Telecommunications Centre in Africa, Julia Lamberth, says it is likely that there have been more telecoms transactions in Africa, over the last two years, than any other sector anywhere in the world.