The Qatari Qtel Group finalized its arrangements with Orascom Telecom Holding (OT) to acquire the latter’s final remaining shares in its Tunisian telecom operator, Tunisiana.
The agreement was finalized on Tuesday during a joint meeting in Cairo between OT’s executive chairman Naguib Sawiris and Qtel Group’s chairman Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed.
“Due to certain circumstances, Qtel is acquiring OT’s Tunisian telecom operator Tunisiana’s shares, although our partnership with OT’s Tunisiana continued for more than four years during which we achieved many successes in the Tunisian market,” Mohamed told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Mohamed said his company would jump at the chance of any investment opportunities in Egypt and that these would aid in its aim to be “among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world.”
Mohamed also described OT’s problems with the Algerian government as “honest competition”, denying that his company had any involvement in the problems between the Algerian government and Djezzy, a subsidiary of OT in Algeria.
He said he hopes these problems will end soon, and their continuation is not in the best interests of the Algerian government.
He added that Algerian law does not permit Qtel to acquire OT’s shares in Djezzy, but that the Tunisiana deal might help solve the Djezzy dilemma.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
