Investment

Quite a few weeks after Ethiopia’s maiden initial public offering (IPO) closed, Ethio Telecom has revealed how many of the company’s shares were actually sold of the 100 million on offer – and it seems the total was very modest indeed.

Cloud services giant Amazon Web Services (AWS), has announced a collaboration with Manara, a social impact startup dedicated to unlocking the untapped potential of top technology talent in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), including women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Spanish telecom company Telefonica has finally confirmed  that it has agreed to sell its Peruvian unit, Telefonica del Peru, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection. It will be sold to Argentina's Integra Tec International for about EUR900,000 euros (about US$1.02 million).

The announcement late last week that a UAE-based investor Rowad Capital Commercial (RCC) is to acquire a 60% stake in Uganda’s national telecom company, Uganda Telecommunications Corporation (UTel), begs a number of questions that are yet to be answered.

Finnish development financier and impact investor Finnfund says it has closed a US$5million equity investment with Netwey, a Mexican internet service provider (ISP), to expand its fibre optic network and improve internet accessibility.

There’s good news – potentially – for African data centre development with the announcement from Raxio Group, a sub-Saharan African data centre platform, that it has signed an agreement for US$100 million in financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

Moroccan operators Maroc Telecom and Inwi have announced the signing of what is described as an expanded partnership agreement aimed at accelerating the deployment of fibre optic and 5G technologies across Morocco.

Underlining the continuing effect of the AI boom on Asia, Thailand has reportedly approved an estimated US$2.7 billion of investments in data centres and cloud services from both local and foreign firms.

Global digital operator Veon and Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, have announced the signing of a business combination agreement that will result in the listing of Ukraine operator Kyivstar on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States.

Tech giant Microsoft has announced two major investments – in South Africa and India – though with two very different focuses. One involves cloud expansion. The other involves afforestation. 

Troubled Brazilian operator Oi has hit another landmark its ongoing corporate restructuring and asset disposal push, with the disposal of both its fibre broadband and pay-TV businesses.

Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform for growing businesses, says it has signed definitive agreements to acquire CTIN Pay, an intermediary payment service (IPS) licensed company in Vietnam.

India’s Tata Electronics and Taiwanese companies Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and Himax have announced a semiconductor-related memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Colombia’s Ministry of ICT, the European Union and CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen connectivity in Colombia and promote development in its territories, especially in rural and remote areas.

A delegation from SpaceX and its LEO satellite unit Starlink has wrapped up a series of meetings with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and other top officials to discuss expanding its investment in the country.

Indus Towers, regularly in the news in recent months, has now hit the headlines with a major tower purchase in India.

Wholesale fibre optic connectivity services and infrastructure carrier InterNexa has announced a five-year US$100 million investment to strengthen connectivity in Colombia.

As well as the revenue projections we covered earlier today, India’s Union Budget 2025 offers mixed but largely positive news for the telecoms sector, notably in areas such as rural coverage, tax on imported electronics, the space sector and artificial intelligence (AI).

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation & Digital Economy (FMCIDE) and WIOCC Group, a provider of digital infrastructure and connectivity solutions, have announced a strategic partnership.

Cloud technologies provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a plan to invest US$8.3 billion into cloud infrastructure in the AWS Asia-Pacific (Mumbai) Region in Maharashtra, a state in the western peninsular region of India, to further expand cloud computing capacity in the country.

Independent investment benefit corporation and asset manager Meridiam says it has acquired a majority stake in Ilitha, an innovative telecommunications company whose main objective is to provide affordable, unlimited internet solutions to underserved areas in South Africa.

State-owned Ethio Telecom revealed on Thursday that it has initiated strategic discussions with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance its digital transformation initiatives, amid reports that the telco also pushed back the deadline of its planned 10% share sale to mid-February.

The mixed fortunes of WOM Colombia, the country’s fourth largest operator, have been at least slightly boosted by news of an acquisition that will allow it to continue to operate.

Digital Edge, a developer and operator of interconnection and hyperscale edge data centres across Asia and portfolio company of Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm, has announced it has raised over US$1.6 billion in new capital to fuel its next phase of growth.

Global digital operator Veon Group says it has reaffirmed its confidence in the growth potential of Pakistan’s microfinance sector and Mobilink Bank, part of the Veon Group, by investing US$15 million in fresh capital to drive the bank’s strategic ambitions.

Operator MTN Uganda says it has secured UGX370 billion (about US$100 million) in committed debt financing from five local banks.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a consortium of six international financial institutions have committed over US$900 million in financing to global data centre operator Yondr Group’s hyperscale data centre campus in Johor Bahru, a city on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

The Cameroon business of pan-African telecom giant MTN Group has received some encouraging news from its parent company in the form of a promised major injection of cash.

Pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager Africa50 has announced a US$15 million investment in Raya Data Centre (RDC), a leading system integrator in MEA.

Brazilian telecommunications tower company Highline, owned by the US-based DigitalBridge group, says it has successfully raised almost US$380 million through a new debenture issue, its largest fundraising effort to date and its first issuance of tax-exempt incentivised debentures in the telecommunications infrastructure sector.

Development financier and impact investor Finnfund has announced a 10 million euro (about US$10.5 million) equity investment to boost the expansion of a major fibre network in Nepal.

Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of Saudi petroleum and natural gas company Aramco, is widely reported to be in talks to invest about US$1 billion in telecommunications software maker Mavenir.

In news that is likely to be relevant to developing world markets where coverage of remote areas remains a problem, iPhone maker Apple has announced that it will invest up to US$1.5 billion in Globalstar, a provider of satellite and terrestrial connectivity services, to fund the expansion of its iPhone communication services.