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Speculation over Angola Telecom's future

Angola , 30 Oct 2019

Speculation over Angola Telecom's future

Independent auditor Ernst & Young has expressed concern over Angola Telecom and its survival, noting that equity is negative and current liabilities exceed current assets by AOA102.6 billion.

Early October 2019 the Angolan government announced that the company had been restructured with the appointment of a new board of directors led by Adilson Miguel dos Santos.

Inaugurated by the president of Angola João Lourenço, the new board is tasked with capitalising the telco and leading it to privatisation.

In August 2019, ITWeb Africa reported that the government is driving privatisation as part of continued efforts to open up the telecommunications industry to private investors.

Angola Telecom, Cable TV Angola, Angola Cables, National Post and Telegraph Company of Angola (ENCTA), Angola and Communications Systems (ACS) and Company telephone Directories of Angola (ELTA) have all been earmarked for privatisation.

The objective is to sell a 45% stake (reportedly valued at US$500-million) in Angola Telecom to a new shareholder and utilise the funds to recapitalise the firm.

Investors could be attracted to the operator's unified global license that empowers it to provide a myriad of electronic communications services based on available technologies.

Angola Telecom is also a major shareholder of Infrasat and Angola Cables which gives it access to satellite and fibre optic connectivity.

The country has embarked on an international marketing and promotion campaign to attract more interest from the world's leading telecommunications operators.

The first session is scheduled for 7 October 2019 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Angola Telecom competes with Unitel, Movicel, and MSTelcom.

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