12 July 2021

Angola Telecom (AT) will again become a shareholder of the compatriot mobile phone company Movicel after leaving the company at the end of 2019, due to the huge debt that the company has with the national telecom operator.

According to local newspapers, AT is expected to acquire a stake as part of larger capital injection for Movicel. AT has threatened to cut off interconnection with the mobile operator, and the proposed share deal forms part of a planned solution to the company’s financial problems, with several international carriers having already ceased providing services to Movicel due to unpaid dues.

It is understood that Movicel's financial situation is precarious and the operator faces problems in terms of quality, technical and network coverage.

Furthermore, the partners have been pressurising Angola’s social security institution INSS the responsibility of "putting" fresh money into the company, there was a previous promise to inject US$100m.

The government reportedly plans to take an indirect 57% share of Movicel through four companies, including two existing stakes held by Instituto Nacional da Segurança Social (INSS, 25%) and National Post & Telegraph of Angola (Empresa Nacional de Correios e Telegrafos de Angola, ENCTA, 2%), alongside AT (proposed 18%) and AT’s satellite subsidiary Infrasat (proposed 12%).