The government of Libya apparently plans to sell nearly 40% stake in the two (at the moment) state-owned mobile phone networks. Earlier reports suggested only small stakes will be offered, but the decision has been changed according to the head of the Libyan Stock Exchange.
Initially, the government plans to offer 5% of Libyana and Al-Madar in an initial public offering. However, that’s just the first phase – “It could reach 30 or 40 percent after some time,” he added.
In other Libya news, we recently had Vodafone signing a non-equity cooperation deal with Almadar Aljadid (Al-Madar) to offer Vodafone branded services in the country.
According to Mobile World’s figures, Libyana is the dominant operator with 83% market share. The country has a population penetration level of 134%, which is impressive! This however, doesn’t mean there’s no room for growth – quite the contrary. Both operators can increase their ARPUs by offering advanced, data-driven services, and I assume this is where the Al-Madar’s partnership with Vodafone comes in.
[Via: CellularNews]