China’s largest cellular operator, state owned China Mobile, is close to striking a deal which will see it take a stake in pan-African mobile group MTN, according to XFN-Asia which cites a report from Shanghai Securities News. Based in South Africa, MTN divides its operations into three regions: South and East Africa (MTN South Africa, MTN Swaziland, MTN Zambia, MTN Uganda, MTN Rwandacell, and Mascom Wireless [Botswana]), West and Central Africa (MTN Nigeria, MTN Cameroon, MTN Congo, MTN Cote d'Ivoire, MTN Benin, MTN Ghana, MTN Guinea Bissau, MTN Guinea and MTN Liberia), and Middle East and North Africa (MTN Irancell, MTN Afghanistan, MTN Cyprus, MTN Sudan, MTN Syria and MTN Yemen). According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, as of the end of June 2007 group operations had coverage of a population of 500 million and claimed more than 48.2 million customers (40.8 million on a proportionate basis), up 20% on the start of the year and 90% year-on-year.
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