The Egyptian government is considering the divestiture of the 45% equity owned by landline operator Telecom Egypt (TE) in Vodafone Egypt to a sovereign entity, well-informed sources in the Ministry of Telecommunications were cited as saying by Al Masry Al Youm newspaper.
The government is seeking to maintain its ownership in the mobile firm for national security reasons, especially as the two other mobile firms, Mobinil and Etisalat Misr, are majority owned by global companies.
The government is currently studying the proposal with the aim of reaching the best option for TE’s exit from Vodafone, given that TE is close to winning a license to provide mobile services.
There are fears that the country’s telecommunication sector may be dominated by foreign companies, as Mobinil is 94% owned by France Telecom and UAE’s Etisalat holds a 65% equity in its Egyptian arm.