Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The global company “Vodafone” said in a press release this morning, Monday, that it has ended its talks on selling its 55% stake in “Vodafone” Egypt without reaching an agreement with the Saudi Telecom Company STC.
In early 2020, Vodafone announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Telecom Company STC to sell its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt to the Saudi company for $ 2.4 billion, as it continued throughout the year to renew the Memorandum of Understanding due to the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. Before mid-September announced the end of the memorandum, without closing the door to the possibility of selling, until today, Monday, it announced its continuation in Egypt and not selling its share to the Saudi company, but rather increasing its investments.
In statements to CNN in Arabic, Ayman Essam, head of the governmental and external relations sector at Vodafone Egypt, said that the reason for the change in the company’s position and its continuation in Egypt is due to several reasons, explaining: “The development of the regulatory environment for the telecommunications sector from providing frequencies and speeding up procedures for building towers and some Other measures related to the positive indicators of the Egyptian economy and the mega projects implemented by the state, both for digital transformation and financial inclusion, pushed the group to continue its share in Egypt to cooperate with the government to implement its vision of sustainable development 2030.
Nick Reed, CEO and Managing Director of Vodafone International Group, commented on the continuation of the company’s business in Egypt, saying: “We believe that the Egyptian government is working on developing frameworks to maximize the benefit of the communications and information technology sector, which will enable Vodafone Egypt to achieve Egypt’s vision for digital transformation and inclusion. Financial and technology center creation helps the company grow in the Africa region. “
The ownership structure of Vodafone Egypt is divided between 55% for the global “Vodafone” company, which was the target of the Saudi purchase offer, 44.8% for Telecom Egypt, and the remaining 0.2% for small shareholders. Vodafone owns the largest share in the mobile market in Egypt by 45%, it also holds the largest share of the mobile wallet market.
The global “Vodafone” company announced its continuation in Egypt, a meeting held yesterday, Sunday, between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Reed, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, and CEO of “Vodafone” Egypt, Mohamed Kamal Abdallah.
According to a statement by the spokesperson for the Presidency of the Republic in Egypt, the meeting dealt with ways to enhance cooperation with the “Vodafone” group and increase its investments in the telecommunications sector in Egypt, especially in light of the huge opportunities provided by the Egyptian market, as well as the various initiatives launched by Egypt in recent years. With the aim of achieving a qualitative leap in society through localizing technology and advancing the field of electronics industry and design, as well as the modern infrastructure that Egypt has come to enjoy.
Reid also stressed that the comprehensive development process and gigantic national projects in Egypt in all fields are clearly reflected in the investment climate and opportunities in Egypt, in a way that encourages Vodafone to expand its activities in Egypt, as it is one of the major major markets in the region in the telecommunications and technology sector. Information and applications supporting cities’ work systems and smart services, thus contributing to the process of financial inclusion, achieving sustainable development, developing the system of services provided to citizens, and providing more job opportunities.
According to the latest media statements of “Vodafone” Egypt officials, the global “Vodafone” company has invested $ 4.1 billion since entering the Egyptian market, the latest of which is obtaining frequencies in the first and largest band with a width of 2 x 20 MHz using TDD technology at a value of $ 540 million.
