China is getting closer to its British tech 'ally' in the West. Following Huawei and Rekoo's US$1.2 billion pledge in the U.K., China Mobile may be the latest Chinese power player to invest in the European nation. Rumors suggest China Mobile may win its bid for a stake between 5 and 20 percent in Britain's Vodafone after AT&T supposedly pulled out of the bid, reports WantChinaTimes. However, AT&T thereafter said that it is still interested in Europe, but any action to acquire Vodafone may happen only months later.
Further speculation adds that British Sky Broadcasting is mulling a takeover of Vodafone. China Mobile and Vodafone, however, aren't complete strangers. Vodafone owned a US$6.65 billion stake in China Mobile before selling its shares back to the Chinese telecom carrier in 2010 and both companies have been in good terms despite its break-up. Vodafone and China Mobile collaboratively bid for Myanmar's contract to double the number of telecom operators running in the Southeast Asian nation.
But what China Mobile is seeking isn't necessarily new business in the U.K. Vodafone, the second largest wireless operator in the world (following China Mobile), has a commanding presence in the emerging region of Africa, where smartphone growth is beginning to pick up. China Mobile, as early as 2010, has expressed interest in exploring or acquiring African investments to hedge against slowing domestic growth.
With Vodafone's US$130 billion stake in Verizon Wireless sold to joint partner Verizon Communications, all signs point toward Vodafone's efforts to further capitalize on the emerging African market. The British operator is the largest in the African continent, and boasts more than 92 million subscribers in the region. And last month, Vodafone was reportedly contemplating a deal for African carrier, Maroc Telecom, which has operations in Morocco, Gabon, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
In fact, China Mobile, AT&T, and BSB weren't the only ones interested in Vodafone. Orange Telecom, a French operator, seeking to shore up its presence in Africa, is reportedly considering buying out Vodafone, reported Bloomberg. Orange has the third-largest carrier market share in Africa with 70 million subscribers.
Francis Bea is a technology writer who has written about social media, mobile startups, and the latest tech trends in China for Digital Trends and TheNextWeb. When Francis isn't writing about tech, you'll find him musing about the mobile ad industry by day for AppFlood, a mobile advertising network, and tinkering with startup ideas by night. Francis Bea is a member of CNET Asia regional blogger network and is not an employee of CNET Asia.
Francis Bea is a technology writer who has written about social media, mobile startups, and the latest tech trends in China for Digital Trends and TheNextWeb. When Francis isn't writing about tech, you'll find him musing about the mobile ad industry by day for AppFlood, a mobile advertising network, and tinkering with startup ideas by night. Francis Bea is a member of CNET Asia regional blogger network and is not an employee of CNET Asia.
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