London - British respected think tank, Oxford Business Group, underlined in its latest report released on Friday the landscape changes in Morocco, especially in the telecoms sector.
"Landscape changes are afoot in Morocco's fast-growing telecoms sector," the London-based OBG said, citing the example of increasing the shares of local companies in Meditel, second mobile phone operator in the north African country.
The new buyers, namely RMA Watanya, FinanceCom and Fipar Holding, have outlined a plan to invest 353 million euros between 2008-11, with the goal of "shifting the company into a 'new development stage,'" the report said.
The OBG notes that although the Moroccan telecoms market remains under-saturated, "its three mobile operators have experienced robust growth in recent years, both at home and abroad."
Meditel, which started in 2000, is Morocco's first private operator, holding 36.69% of the market, it said, noting that while the company had registered a 17% growth in client base (to 7.4m) over the first three quarters of 2008, it began to falter as consumer spending slowed, resulting in a 1% annual increase in turnover for the second quarter of 2009.
Maroc Telecom (MT), Meditel's biggest competitor, holds 60.71% of the market, the report recalls. "MT is one of the region's fastest-growing multinational telecoms operators, actively pursuing expansion across northwest Africa, including Gabon, Mauritania and Burkina Faso," it added.
Meditel and MT operated a duopoly until 2008, when the state regulator Agence Nationale de Reglementation des Telecommunications waved in Wana, which holds a tiny share (2.6%) of the voice market, this new player has captured a majority of the 3G market (69.11%).
The OBG document notes that the total subscribers for this new technology increased 527% in 2008, underlining the "revival" of the fixed-line, whose subscribers increased 24.96% in 2008, thanks in part to an increase in data demand, the report said.
Competition between the three market players has benefited the Moroccan consumer by driving down prices and advancing new technologies, the report noted.
© Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse 2009
