A France Telecom executive on Friday reaffirmed his interest in growing the company's footprint in West Africa, but would not be drawn on whether significant moves are imminent.
"It is our strategy to develop in Africa and the Middle East, so anything that does happen, we will look very carefully at it," said Elie Girard, senior executive vice president in charge of group strategy and development at France Telecom.
Speaking at a press briefing in London, he said Algeria, Burkina Faso, Gabon and Mauritania "interest us"; he also indicated France Telecom's willingness to increase its exposure in Mali, where it is present via Senegal-based Sonatel, a company in which it holds a 42% stake, and Morocco, where it holds 40% of local player Meditel.
French conglomerate Vivendi is widely expected to sell its stake in market leader Maroc Telecom as it refocuses on its media assets, and France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard admitted to French media in December 2012 that the unit could have "strategic interest" to his company.
"Morocco is a country of interest," said Girard on Friday; however, he said France Telecom would proceed "very cautiously" with respect to any possible move for Maroc Telecom.
"We're already there [in Morocco] with Meditel, and we have a good partnership with them," he said.
The company also continues to entertain the possibility of entering Algeria, a market that has been on its radar for some time, particularly given the population movement between the two countries.
As part of the 'Conquests 2015' strategy it announced in 2010, France Telecom plans to grow its revenue in emerging markets to ?7 billion, compared to ?3.4 billion at the end of 2009, and to be the number one or number two player in every market in its footprint.
France Telecom has around 72 million customers in Africa, putting third behind Vodafone with 92 million, and MTN, which has 115 million.
Between 2010 and 2015, Idate expects revenues in Africa's telecom sector to rise to $100 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%, faster than Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, which will see a CAGR of 5.0% and 5.2% respectively.
By the end of 2015 mobile penetration in Africa is expected to reach 84.88%, compared to 72.62% at the end of 2012, according to Ovum.
"In the next five years, [Africa's] telecoms market is going to be the most dynamic in the world," claimed Girard.
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Source: http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=478732
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