African Telecoms Attract China's Interest

What a busy couple of weeks it has been for African telecoms. It seems India is not the only BRIC nation interested in taking a gamble on the long-term potential of the underdeveloped market sector; now it appears China is too. According to a statement by the Nigerian government released on February 16, the New Generation Telecom consortium, which includes state-controlled telecoms operator China Unicom , has been selected as the preferred bidder for the long-awaited privatisation of Nigeria Telecommunications (Nitel). The consortium's bid totalled US$2.5bn. The news comes hot on the heels of India's Bharti Airtel 's US$10.7bn move for the African operations of Kuwait's Zain . Pending completion of the two deals, this should further heighten competition between China and India on African soil.

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