listed 11 applications from companies
including Globacom Nigeria, Teylium
Group and Warid Telecom. On 20th
June 2008 the NCA announced that
Glo Mobile—one of Nigeria’s biggest
three mobile operators—had been
awarded the licence for a consideration
of $50.1m. The new operation in
Ghana was allocated spectrum in the
900/1800MHz and the 2.1GHz bands,
as well as an international gateway
licence.
The second express transaction
was the sale of 70 per cent of Ghana
Telecom to Vodafone. The sale of the
majority stake to a strategic investor
was not a surprise as the process had
begun in 2006.
However, Vodafone was not among
the initial bidders mentioned. France
Telecom was even reported to be the
winner in November 2006, mainly in
the local Ghanaian press. But in February
2008, it was reported that the
government had suspended the sale of
shares in Ghana Telecom. France Telecom’s
$520m offer had been rejected
because the government put a higher
price on the company’s assets.
Vodafone was announced as the winner
on 3rd July 2008. The UK group closed
the deal in August acquiring a 70 per cent
stake from the Ghanaian government for
$900m. The deal was struck on a debtfree,
cash-free basis, implying a total
enterprise value for Ghana Telecom of
about $1.3bn. The government will retain
30 per cent of the company.
Vodafone’s entry into Ghana fits into
its strategy of expanding aggressively
into emerging markets to offset slowing
growth in mature markets. It gives the
UK firm access to one of the remaining
attractive markets in the region. The
challenges will mainly lie in Ghana Telecom’s
fixed-line assets and Vodafone
will have to deal with heavy debts and
reducing the number of staff.
The move was a final feather in the
cap for former Vodafone chief executive
officer Arun Sarin who stepped
down at the end of July. “Ghana is
one of the most attractive markets
in Africa with mobile subscribers
growing at more than 55 per cent
per annum. Our extensive operating
experience together with our portfolio
of products and services position
us well to deliver a superior mobile
experience to Ghanaian customers
Mobile Communications International | First for news, best for business
FACTFILE Data provided by WCIS | For related regional data: www.wcisdata.com email: telecoms.enquiries.com
HISTORICAL SUBSCRIBER FIGURES FOR ALL GHANAIAN OPERATORS
Operator Sep 06 Dec 06 Mar 07 Jun 07 Sep 07 Dec 07 Mar 08 Jun 08
Kasapa 172,500 200,100 218,000 237,000 271,000 289,070 318,570 342,800
Millicom Ghana 977,090 1,211,900 1,304,820 1,286,950 1,505,460 2,083,090 2,393,780 2,590,210
One Touch 766,000 894,980 904,830 1,064,000 1,280,260 1,275,760 1,400,000 1,515,300
Scancom 2,436,000 2,585,000 2,924,000 3,392,390 3,872,000 4,016,130 4,398,000 4,997,000
Total 4,351,590 4,891,980 5,351,650 5,980,340 6,928,720 7,664,050 8,510,350 9,445,310
GHANAIAN CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS LICENCE HOLDERS
Licensee Technology Award Date Fee ($m) Expiry Date
Glo Mobile 2G Jun 2008 50.10 Jun 2023
Glo Mobile 3G Jun 2008 Not Known Jun 2023
Kasapa 1G Dec 2004 22.50 Dec 2019
Kasapa 2G Dec 2004 Not Known Dec 2019
Millicom Ghana 2G Dec 2004 22.50 Dec 2019
One Touch 2G Dec 2004 22.50 Dec 2019
Scancom 2G Dec 2004 22.50 Dec 2019
Western TeleSystems 2G Oct 2006 22.50 Oct 2021
and significantly improve financial
performance,” he said.
Vodafone is aiming for Ghana Telecom
to ultimately raise its mobile
market share to about 25 per cent,
reversing recent underperformance.
Sarin said that over the next five years
Ghana Telecom is to invest over $500m
in its operations and network, restoring
and expanding network coverage
and completing and integrating the
fibre backbone, as well as introducing
initiatives such as M-PESA and
ultra-low cost handsets.
Back in Q108 Hutchison announced
that it had sold Kasapa, Ghana’s fourth
mobile (CDMA) operator, to EGH International
Limited for HK$584m ($74m).
The deal is hanging in the balance,
however, dependent on regulatory
approval. And there is also an ongoing
court case between Kasapa and former
local shareholders.
The court case was not mentioned
by Hutchison as an obstacle to the
transaction and there was no information
on EGH’s activities or its
country of origin. Rumours link EGH
to Sudanese operator, Sudatel, but
the Sudanese company has so far not
mentioned investments in Ghana.
Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts
that mobile subscriptions in
MARKET ANALYSIS
Source: Informa Telecoms & Media’s World Cellular Information Service
Ghana will grow by 47 per cent between
2007 and 2011. The country’s
penetration rate will then reach 41
per cent. In comparison, Africa as
a whole will grow by 48 per cent by
2011 to reach 385 million subscriptions
and a penetration rate of 38
per cent.
With increasing competition and
rapidly falling ARPU in Ghana, Vodafone’s
valuation is starting to look
high. West Africa might look like a
promising investment opportunity to
Western Carriers, and maybe Vodafone
can leverage its scale to help it
compete, but emerging markets pose
a host of challenges and pitfalls that
make some carriers, such as Hutch,
decide they’re better off getting out
of Africa. �
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27
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