Expands its operations into Sudan
7 October 2004 - Investcom Holding ('Investcom'), the international telecommunications company, announced today that it has acquired an additional 25% stake in Sudan's Bashair Telecommunications Company, bringing its total ownership level to 55%. The investment, now totalling $100 million, further boosts Investcom's mobile telecommunications footprint in Africa and the Middle East.
Bashair was awarded a 15 year license to build and operate a GSM mobile network in Sudan in October 2004, and will commence offering services in the second half of 2005 under Investcom's Areeba brand.
Investcom will put in place the professional management team that will run Bashair, tapping into the experience and the resources which the company has accumulated from more than ten years of operations in the mobile industry.
Azmi Mikati, Chief Executive of Investcom, said, "This deal sees Investcom boost its licensed population coverage by almost 40 million people, taking our mobile offering to a total of 8 markets. Sudan is at a very exciting point right now, poised to see the second mobile operator enter the market. We are very thrilled about Areeba being this second operator, and will be concentrating now on building a superior network in time to launch commercial services in the summer of 2005."
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About Investcom
Investcom Holding (Luxembourg) S.A. ('Investcom') is an international telecommunications company with operations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. As of 30 June 2004, Investcom provided services to over 1.8 million mobile subscribers. The company operates GSM networks in Benin, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Syria and Yemen, with a combined population under license of more than 70 million. The company also provides carrier voice and data services through its operations in Monaco and the UK.
For more information, contact:
Neil Doyle / Claire Maloney,
Capital MS&L on +44 (0) 20 7307 5330 or
Neil.Doyle@capitalmsl.com / Claire.Maloney@capitalmsl.com
© Press Release 2005
