Zambia starts the hunt for international operator to invest in Zamtel

Three years after Zambia repossessed incumbent operator Zamtel from Libya’s LapGreen Networks, the Zambian government has started hunting for an international operator to invest in the company.

Zamtel, like many other incumbent operators in Africa, is losing money. Last month, the Zambian government said Zamtel needs US$300 million for it to become viable, but that it doesn’t have the money to recapitalize the company. This has forced the Zambian government to start the hunt for an international telecom company to invest in Zamtel in order to save it from closing.

The problems facing Zamtel underline the difficulties that other African governments have in keeping incumbent operators in business. Zamtel was sold to LapGreen Networks in 2010 for US$257 million by the previous administration. In 2012 however, the current Zambian administration repossessed Zamtel from the Libyans, on grounds that the company was illegally sold by the previous administration. It accused the prior government of corruption in a range of deals, including the sale of Zamtel.

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