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Privatization of Albtelecom, new deadline for Calik Enerji
deadline set by the Albanian government for the Turkish company, Calik Enerji,
to fulfill all regulative requirements in regard to the privatization of
Albtelecom.
team, Calik Enerji needs to find a strategic partner, that is, another
experienced company in the telecommunications market. And it needs to achieve this before the end
of May 2007 in order to buy Albtelecom.
Calik Enerji presented a strategic partnership
agreement with Turkish Telecom in the tender, however, now is not able to
provide all documents verifying such an agreement. According to the Albanian
law, the buyer of Albtelecom "should be a well known and experienced
telecommunication’s company", and according to the Minister of Economy,
Genc Ruli, Calik Enerji, does not fulfill this requirement.
Calik Enerji signed a contract in April 2005 to buy a
76% stake in Albtelecom for the established price of EUR 120mn; however, the
contract will need an approval by the Albanian parliament before it can enter
into force.
Albtelecom is of strategic importance for the
east-west interconnection lines because it owns part of the telecommunication
facilities connecting Italy with Turkey. All international calls are routed
through Albtelecom, which in turn account for about 70% of the corporation’s
total revenue. The fixed line operator also owns the third GSM license in the
country, which has not yet become operative. The final buyer will enjoy access
to a lucrative market of some 2 million customers and EUR 300 million in
revenue.
Albanian government is currently under pressure from
both parties about Albtelecom’s privatization. Meanwhile, the current mobile
operators, AMC and Vodafone Albania, which share the mobile market in the
country, are concerned over the fact that their new competitor will enjoy a
free GSM license as well as the right to use their existing networks, if
Albtelecom’s sale agreement terms stay as they are at the present.
