TEHRAN (MNA) --- South African cellular network operator, MTN is eyeing opportunities in Iran's fast-growing cell phone market, Business Report said on Tuesday.
Iran's parliamentarians approved a bill last week obliging the government to obtain parliamentary permits for signing deals with foreign firms - retrospectively applying to last week's deal with Turkcell. Turkcell's $3 billion (R19.16 billion) deal was to operate the country's second private GSM license.
The legislators have opposed the cell phone contract awarded to the Turkish-led consortium in February, accusing the company of links to Tehran's arch foe, Israel.
"If Turkcell doesn't manage very well, they (Iranian officials) might look to MTN or also when there is a third operator," South Africa's Telecommunications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said this week.
Africa's largest cell phone company by sales was runner-up in the tender won by Turkcell. "We have been under the impression that if the deal with Turkcell does not get through, MTN would have a strong chance to step in," the company's local representative Chris Kilowan said.
"If the rest of the conditions make sense, we are ready to work under the new regulation," he added.
But Turkcell still has a chance. The new bill must go to Iran's legislative watchdog, the Guardian Council (GC), for final approval.
If finalized, the Iranian government and Turkcell consortium will have three months to obtain a parliamentary permit, possibly by revising the share structure, 70 percent of which is non-Iranian.
Tehran Times Business Desk
© Tehran Times 2004
