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Like the growing user base in the domestic market isn’t enough, China Mobile is eyeing South African market to expand internationally. Earlier reports suggested the world’s largest mobile operator by the total number of subscribers wanted to bid for MTN, which will most likely end up in India’s Bharti “hands.” However, China Mobile denied that it is interested to buy MTN.
“China Mobile has not joined the MTN bidding, but we are interested in the South African market and we are looking at various opportunities for entering that market,” the carrier’s chief executive Wang Jianzhou commented following the company’s annual general meeting.
So far, China Mobile had a mixed track record of acquisitions. The carrier came close to buying emerging-markets operator Millicom International Cellular in 2006 before pulling the plug on the deal. In May of last year, it made its first and only overseas acquisition, buying Pakistan’s Paktel from Millicom for $460 million.
In February, however, China Mobile opened an EMEA headquarters in London, stating that emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East are priorities for the operator in 2008.
[Via: Reuters]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
