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  • 9mobile biggest losers as Internet users hit 94.8 million in November – NCC

    9mobile biggest losers as Internet users hit 94.8 million in November – NCC

    The internet users increased marginally to 94 .8 million in November, the Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC ), has said.

    The NCC made this disclosure in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for November 2017 on its website on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to the data, Airtel, MTN and Glo gained more internet subscribers during the month, while 9mobile was the big loser.

    The data also showed that overall, internet users increased by to 94, 818,553 in November from 93,887,184 in October showing an increase of 931, 369.

    The data breakdown revealed that MTN gained 428, 596 new internet users increasing its subscription in November to 33,426,931 from 32,998,335 in October.

    It showed that 9mobile lost 180, 044 internet users in November decreasing its subscription to 11,407.180 as against October when it recorded 11,587,224 in October.

    It said Airtel gained the most with 632, 506 new internet users in November amounting to 23, 074,163 users as against 22,441,657 users in October.

    The data showed that Globacom also gained 50,311new users in November as the figure recorded was 26,910,279 as against 26,859,968 it had in October.

    Read Also: NCC gives out N17m to winners of tennis championship

    NAN

  • Bharti Airtel ‘interested in 9mobile’

    Bharti Airtel ‘interested in 9mobile’

    Bharti Airtel Limited is interested in acquiring Nigeria’s 9mobile, according to Goldman Sachs.

    If the Sunil Mittal-led telecom firm buys 9mobile, it will become the number one operator in Nigeria, Goldman Sachs added in the report based on an analyst meet arranged by the company.

    Bharti Airtel, Helios Investment Partners, Smile Telecoms, Globacom and Teleology Holdings are the shortlisted bidders for the takeover of Nigeria 9mobile, formerly known as Etisalat.

    Bharti Airtel management told analysts that its margins in Africa could improve as the company gains more revenue market share. The firm’s margins from the African business has been improving over the past few quarters and currently stands at around 32 percent.

    Goldman Sachs expects Bharti Africa’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins to be 34 per cent in financial year 2020-21.

    Bharti Airtel is also looking to the fix some of its problem markets. Currently, the company ranks number one or two in 11 out of their 14 African markets, while it lags in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. The company will invest at a slower pace in the laggard markets, and may even sell off its Kenya business, Goldman Sachs added.

    In Kenya, Bharti will soon launch 4G to improve their positioning, but mentioned that they potentially have suitors for their Kenya business.

    Bharti Airtel expects annual Africa capital expenditure to stay in the range of $600-700 million, with increase in spectrum deployment potentially helping the company take care of additional capacity needs.

    Bharti Airtel got nearly 65 per cent of its net profit from the African market in the July-September quarter.

  • Lagos, 9mobile partner on coding centres

    The Lagos State Government yesterday launched two additional Coding Centres, raising the number to 200 across the state.

    They were inaugurated by the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Education, Obafela Bank-Olemoh, at Rabiatu Thompson Memorial Primary School, Surulere, on the  mainland and Akande Dahunsi Memorial Senior Secondary School, Ikoyi, on the island.

    The centres have been adopted by telecom operator 9mobile under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    The CodeLagos is an initiative of the Ministry of Education with a charge on the private sector to key into the government’s vision of making coding education framework accessible to students.

    Bank-Olemoh reiterated the government’s commitment to training one million Lagosians to code by 2019.

    The Special Adviser, who was represented by the Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo, described CodeLagos as the first-of-its-kind initiative to sharpen the pupils’ knowledge.

    According to him, it will enable pupils in the state to harness, create and leverage on the 21st century opportunities as well as increase their employment and business opportunities in Information Technology as well as enhance the state’s global competitiveness and best practices.

    He said: “CodeLagos seeks to teach at least one million Lagos residents to code by 2019 and also foster necessary skills to create sustainable solutions to social challenges and create employment opportunities.

    “The Lagos State government has therefore aimed at making coding education framework accessible to every student in Lagos State by encouraging the private sector to key into this new initiative, as the state would continue to create an enabling environment conducive for investment.”

    The Acting Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Director for 9mobile, Mrs Oluseyi Osunsedo, said the firm’s investment into the centres included computers, internet access, solar power, furniture, and payment of stipends to the coding facilitators.

    She expressed hope that through the initiative, the pupils would not only learn about but use new technology to solve societal problems.

    “We are very happy with this partnership with Lagos State on CodeLagos.  The digital revolution has taken over and we have to empower our students to compete to be able to make contributions in future.  We believe that we are exposing the children to technology that ideally every child should be exposed to and we are encouraging the children to make the best use of this opportunity,” Mrs. Osunsedo said.

  • 9mobile

    9mobile

    •CBN and NCC should insist on transparent transaction process

    EXCEPT there are other reasons other than that already made public, it is hard to fault the demand by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Communications Commission (NCC), that Barclays  Africa – the financial adviser appointed by the banks to see through the sale of the beleaguered telecommunications firm, 9Mobile – must ensure utmost transparency in the transaction process.

    In their joint letter to GT Bank – the facility agent for the 9Mobile syndicated loan – made public last week – the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, and executive vice-chairman, NCC, Umar Danbatta, had accused Barclays Africa, the lenders’ financial  advisers of “unwillingness to follow due process” in the bid process. They charged that Barclays has “repeatedly exhibited signs of opacity in the sale process for 9Mobile. Given the overriding public interest in the company and the need for transparency, we advised that Barclays advertise the call for ‘expression of interest’” –which it reportedly turned down, “insisting instead that the company being a private entity, should not be taken through a public sale”.

    “This lack of transparent process has proven to be selective and arbitrary, leading to allegations that the process is being teleguided to a rigged and predetermined outcome. The CBN and the NCC will not fold their arms and allow this to materialise”, they wrote.

    As financial advisers appointed by the lenders, their position of being solely answerable to their principals as against the two regulators would ordinarily seem understandable. Indeed, in the absence of any formal takeover of the debt by any public agency, the consortium – represented by Barclays – could claim to have the law on its side to the extent that the N541 billion debt owed its principals subsists.

    That position, however, can only be deemed tenable when the intervening role of the CBN and the NCC in stabilising the telecoms company in the aftermath of the insolvency is wholly discounted.

    In the first place, the current animus would never have arisen had Etisalat –  the original telecoms company not defaulted on a $1.2 billion medium-term, seven-year facility obtained to fund expansion of its network in 2013. We are talking here of the staggering $696 million left to pay on the loan three years after  – and the telecoms firm’s failure to service it. If we may recall – that the CBN and NCC actually stepped in to clear the mess was a matter of national interest, borne of the exigencies to save both the telecoms and the financial services industry as a whole. This was after all efforts to get the loan restructured had proved abortive, and shortly after the company’s Abu Dhabi majority shareholders (which held 45 percent of the shares) made their exit and local creditors were left to stew in their juice.

    Without the critical intervention which saved the company from collapse and prevented creditors from putting it into receivership, it goes without saying that the financial adviser will have no entity to talk of let alone one to advise upon; just as the creditor-banks will certainly be in worse state than they are today. That they did to save the company when it mattered most should therefore make them critical stakeholders in the resolution process.

    Nothing in the demands of course can be deemed as either injurious to the cause of private entities or incompatible with the principles of corporate governance and best practices which Barclays Africa claims to practice. That being the case, the regulators should insist that the financial adviser adhere strictly to them.  And if it is true as reported that Barclays Africa has pulled out from the deal, the two regulatory helmsmen only need to remind the corporation that the industry didn’t get this far with lax regulation; and certainly not with players insisting on playing only on their own terms.

     

  • Reps move to protect Interests of Nigerians others, in defunct Etisalat

    Reps move to protect Interests of Nigerians others, in defunct Etisalat

    The House of Representatives Thursday mandated its Committee on Telecommunications to conduct an investigation into reasons for the collapse of Etisalat Nigeria (now 9mobile).

    According to the lawmakers one of the reasons for the probe is to protect the Interests of Nigerian subscribers and other stakeholders:

    The resolution of the of the House was sequel to the adoption of the prayers of a motion by a member, Hon. Saheed Akinade-Fijabi

    The Lawmaker while arguing the motion noted that Etisalat Nigeria (now 9 mobile) commenced business in Nigeria in 2009 after acquiring the unified access license spectrum in the GSM 1800 and 900 MHZ bands from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in January 2007

    He said it thus became Nigeria s fourth largest telecommunications network operator with over 21 million subscribers and controlling about 12.9 per cent of the country’s telecom market share.

    He further states: “Etisalat Nigeria was formerly owned by three shareholders, namely Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (40 percent), Mubadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi (45 percent) and EMTS Holding BV (15 percent);

    “Aware that Etisalat Nigeria obtained a loan of $1.2 billion (377.4 billion Naira) in 2013 from thirteen (13) Nigerian banks which involved a foreign-backed guaranteed bond to finance a major network rehabilitation, upgrade and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria;

    “Etisalat Nigeria had so far paid about half of the initial loan amounting to about 504 billion Naira with total outstanding sum of about 574 miliion dollars but had reneged on its debt servicing obligations after the intervention of the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria to restructure the loan and new repayment deadline.”

    Fijabi expressed concern that the failure of Etisalat to meet its debt servicing obligations with the banks since 2016 resulted in its foreign major shareholders pulling out and eventual take-over of the company by the banks.

    He however said that the take-over of Etisalat Nigeria which was renamed 9mobile by the banks is a clear violation of Section 38 (1) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003

    According to him, the act  provides that “the grant of a license shall be personal to the licensee and the license shall not be operated by, assigned, sub-licensed or transferred to any other party unless the prior written approval of the Commission has been granted”;

    When the motion was put to a vote by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, it was passed by a majority support of lawmakers and referred to the House committee on Telecommunications.

    The committee is to report back in eight weeks for further legislative action.

  • NCC, CBN query Barclays’ transparency in sale of 9mobile

    NCC, CBN query Barclays’ transparency in sale of 9mobile

    The two regulators that saved former Etisalat Nigeria (now 9mobile) from being taken over the a consortium of local lenders, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), have questioned the handling of the sale process of 9mobile by Barclays Africa, its financial advisors.

    A letter jointly endorsed by the heads of the two regulators to GTBank, which is the facility agent for the 9mobile syndicated loan, expressed displeasure with the “unwillingness of Barclays Africa” to follow due process in the bid.

    In the letter, dated November 4, 2017,  and endorsed by NCC’s CEO, Prof Umar Danbatta, and CBN Governor,  Godwin Emefiele, the two regulators said they made it clear from the outset that the sale process must be “transparent and fair, with the financial and technical capabilities of the final bidders without question”.

    They said they now have “serious concerns” since the appointment of Barclays Africa as financial advisors.

    “They have repeatedly exhibited signs of opacity in the sale process for 9mobile. Given the overriding public interest in the company and the need for transparency, we advised that Barclays advertise the call for ‘expression of interest’. Barclays declined, insisting instead that the company being a private one, should not be taken through a public sale.

    “This lack of a transparent process has proven to be selective and arbitrary, leading to allegations that the process is being teleguided to a rigged and predetermined outcome. The CBN and the NCC will not fold their arms and allow this to materialise,” the letter read.

    Danbatta and Emefiele said they had received reports and petitions from various stakeholders, including some bidders, which have further heightened their concerns—but their suggestions to the board of 9mobile and Barclays on how to restore credibility to the process have been ignored.

    The CBN and NCC then directed that all steps and decisions taken by the financial advisers as well as other advisers from the end of “expression of interest” must be communicated to CBN and NCC, who will have to approve in writing.

    They also directed that the final bid process must be “open and transparent” in line with international best practices.

    Danbatta and Emefiele said the December 31, 2017 deadline for the handover of 9mobile to the preferred bidders “remains sacrosanct”.

     

    Ten  firms are said to have moved to the financial stage of the bid process to acquire the ailing telco.

    The companies listed are Globacom Nigeria Limited, Bharti Airtel, Alheri Engineering Limited, Smile Telecoms Holdings, Helios Towers, Centricus Capital, Africell, Abraaj Capital, Teleology Holdings Limited, Ericsson, Africa Capital Alliance (ACA) and The Carlyle Group.

    The company formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria changed its brand name to 9Mobile in July after the Mubadala Group, the major investor from the United Arab Emirates, pulled out of Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile operator following a N541 billion debt.

    The debt is owed to a consortium of 10 banks, with GTBank acting as the facility agent.

    The sale of 9mobile, with 21 million subscribers, is expected to bring in the needed capital to restore it to good health.

  • Fidelity Bank takes charge on 9mobile loan

    Fidelity Bank takes charge on 9mobile loan

    Fidelity Bank has taken a five per cent impairment charge on a N17.3 billion ($55 million) loan to Etisalat Nigeria, now called 9mobile, Fidelity Chief Executive Nnamdi Okonkwo said yesterday.

    The bank’s action was in line with a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) request.

    Etisalat Nigeria took out a $1.2 billion syndicated loan from a group of 13 local banks four years ago but has defaulted on repayments this year due to a currency crisis and recession in Nigeria.

    A banking source told Reuters last week that the CBN had asked lenders involved in the loan to take a five per cent provision as part of their third-quarter results.

    Okonkwo said Fidelity Bank was also raising provisions across its loan book. “We are revising (the non-performing loan ratio) from sub-five per cent to sub-six per cent by end of the year, due to currency conversion and some risk on the oil and gas book,” he told an analysts call held to discuss its nine-month results.

    “We have seen some improvements in the transport sector and the consumer book.”

    Net loans stood at N753.8 billion as of September, up 4.9 per cent from a year earlier. The bank was targeting 7.5 per cent loan growth this year, Okonkwo said.

    Fidelity Bank on Monday posted a pretax profit of N16.24 billion for the nine months through September, up from N9.83 billion a year ago.

    The Senate on Tuesday voted in favour of launching an investigation into the default of Etisalat Nigeria and into how its funds were used. Nigerian lenders have picked Barclays to try to find new investors for 9mobile, two banking sources told Reuters last week.

    Okonkwo also said the bank had submitted details of personal and business accounts that lacked complete identification to the CBNfollowing a court order. He declined to say how many accounts were involved.

    A court has ordered a temporary freeze on millions of bank accounts with incomplete identification documents and the forfeiture of funds in those accounts as the government seeks to ensure compliance with money laundering rules.

  • 9mobile: SMEs, software developers vital to growth

    Nigeria’s fourth largest carrier,  9mobile, has partnered Africa’s Talking to empower software solutions developers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with access to telecommunication infrastructure through mobile communication Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

    9mobile’s partnership with Africa’s Talking, a pan-African company focused on providing developers with an easy and reliable way to access telecommunication infrastructure, aims at boosting Nigerian software developers activities and enabling SMEs to effectively engage customers across multiple channels.

    The telco’s Director, Digital Business,  Adia Sowho, said through the direct connection to 9mobile’s infrastructure and the unified API platform that Africa’s Talking provides, developers will be able to access and build innovative applications while SMEs can use the platform to improve their marketing capabilities.

    She said: “We at 9mobile are delighted to partner with Africa’s Talking in our bid to support Nigerian software developers and small businesses as they build viable and scalable businesses. This partnership will provide businesses with quality and affordable mobile communication tools like 2-way SMS and USSD APIs that they can then embed into their day to day business activities. With these tools, SMEs can improve their marketing capabilities and interact easily with their customers.

    “In the past decade, mobile communication has proven beneficial for businesses seeking to create and maintain meaningful relationships with their existing and future customers. It is through this that businesses are able to offer effective customer support, real time communication solutions, collect data as well as optimise their operations. With this solution, SMEs will also be able to tap into the local developer community to build systems that enhance business efficiency, leading to job creation and overall support of local talent,”she said.

    Sowho noted that with the partnership, individual developers do not need to interface directly with telco-grade protocols, which prove to be difficult and time consuming.

    “With an estimated 250,000 developers in the country, having easy access to this infrastructure will encourage more developers to build innovative solutions that can directly impact the lives of the Nigerian populace. At 9mobile, we are always passionate about providing technology based support to innovative thinkers,” Sowho said.

    She added that 9mobile and Africa’s Talking were dedicated to working closely with the developer community across the country through supporting training workshops, hackathons and other developer activities, with the aim of educating and encouraging developers to take advantage of the tools that are now available to them locally.

    Africa’s Talking has also provided a sandbox environment for developers to use while learning how to work with the APIs as well as testing out their applications before taking them to production.

  • International Youth Day: 9mobile celebrates Nigerian youths 

    International Youth Day: 9mobile celebrates Nigerian youths 

    9mobile has celebrated Nigerian youths for their exceptional resourcefulness and the can-do spirit.

    The telecommunication company used the opportunity of the event to urge them to continue to engage in ventures that foster peace and development.

    Joining the United Nations in the commemoration of the International Youth Day 2017, 9mobile restated its commitment to empowering the Nigerian youth through its support for education, arts, entertainment, sports, entrepreneurship and other avenues for youth development.

    The theme for the International Youth Day 2017 is Youth Building Peace, which is dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace.

    The Head of Youth Segment, 9mobile, Layi Onafowokan, said the telecommunications company places a high value on Nigerian youths because of their vibrancy and the important role they play in the development of the country.

    He said, “As a company that is passionate about empowering youths, we at 9mobile celebrate Nigerian youths as the world marks the United Nations International Youth Day. In line with the theme of this year’s International Youth Day, which is ‘Youth Building Peace’, we urge Nigerian youth to endeavour to promote sustainable peace as the country cannot prosper without peace.”

    “On our part, 9mobile will continue to partner with the youths by supporting education, entrepreneurship, literature, photography, sports and other endeavours through which Nigerian youths can express their innate talents and abilities. We see greatness in Nigerian youths and by harnessing cutting edge technology to create innovative products and services, we will continue to provide avenues for the youth to achieve great feats.”

    Onafowokan added that with its recent brand migration, 9mobile has been repositioned for a future that is powered by innovation, to which the youths belong, and has re-established itself as a prime driver and avid supporter of the Nigerian spirit of excellence.

    He noted that historically, 9mobile has excelled in youth engagements from developing youth-centric products and services such as More Cliq (formerly easycliq), to organizing festivals of education, entertainment and sports in campuses across the country and engaging youths in skills acquisition and career counseling programmes.

    He said in the bid to stay true to its corporate and brand values, 9mobile retained all of its programmes that are targeted at the youths, which the telco long identified as a critical segment of the telecommunications market.

  • FBN: Banks to stabilise 9mobile before sale

    The 13 commercial banks that gave $1.2 billion loan to 9mobile  will try to stabilise the business of the firm  until new  investors step in, First Bank of Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Adesola Adeduntan, said yesterday.

    The bank chief said  there was no need to impair the loans extended to the telecom firm, because of its cash flows.

    “On the part of lenders, we are trying to reposition the company till we find new investors. With the level of cash flow we believe there will be no need for impairment,” Adeduntan told Reuters.

    Another lender, FCMB, said on Tuesday lenders had agreed to extend a $1.2 billion loan which the mobile operator, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, took out four years ago but struggled to repay due to a currency crisis and a recession in Nigeria.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) stepped in last month to save Etisalat Nigeria from collapse and prevent lenders placing the country’s fourth biggest telecoms group into receivership, prompting a board, management and name change.

    The local banks which participated in the loan, many of which are reporting first-half results, have been trying to work out the value of 9mobile before deciding whether to impair the loan or wait until the company finds new investors.

    Banks involved in the loan deal include: Zenith Bank , GT Bank, First Bank, UBA , Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Union Bank.

    GT Bank with $138 million in outstanding loans to 9mobile and Access Bank with $131 million are among the most exposed. The telecoms group has asked Citigroup and Standard Bank to find an investor to buy into the firm and three companies have shown interest, a banking source close to the deal said.