Niger will merge its public telephone and mobile communications companies into a single entity in order to expand its market share in the West African nation, the telecommunications minister said.
Niger currently has two state-owned companies - Sonitel, which operates landlines, and Sahelcom, a mobile operator.
They will be brought into a single company called Niger Telecom, with capital of 23.4 billion CFA francs ($40.04 million), Yahouza Sadissou said in a statement late on Wednesday following a cabinet meeting.
He said the goal of the merger was to pool technical and financial resources and make the public operator's services more attractive to clients.
Niger has 7 million mobile subscribers and four mobile operators, including Sahelcom, Bharti Airtel of India's local unit, France's Orange, and Moov.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/niger-telecoms-idUSL8N1C53UB?rpc=401
