Government to auction 20% stake of Cote d’Ivoire Telecom this year
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
Côte d’Ivoire Telecom, the country’s incumbent telco which is owned at 49% by the Ivorian State is set to go public again. In fact, the government is reportedly planning to sell through an auction process a 20% stake of the operator this year, according to Elisabeth Tanoa N’Gotta, a senior official from Centre de Promotion et d’Investissement en Côte d’Ivoire (Cepici), a structure dedicated to attract foreign investors by promoting the investment opportunities in the country.
The announcement came at the sidelines of a meeting held last week in Abidjan which gathered French and Ivorian entrepreneurs in order to discuss ways of business expansion between the two countries.
It would be recalled that Côte d’Ivoire Telecom has been controlled by France Telecom since 1997 at 51%, following a 7-year renewable concession deal concluded with the Government. Currently, the operator provides mobile fixed and internet services to more than 4 million customers in the country. At the end of 2009, it generated €458 million of revenues, an increase of 3% compared to 2008.