Phone tower firm eyes growth opportunities in Africa

“Yet at the same time (Turkish authorities) are reluctant to adopt orthodox policy frameworks,” JP Morgan said.

On Wednesday the White House said it would not remove steel tariffs on Turkey, appearing to give Ankara little incentive to work for the release of the pastor Andrew Brunson, who is on trial in Turkey on terrorism charges.

Washington wants the evangelical Christian freed, but Turkish officials say the case is a matter for the courts.

President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish metals exports to the US last week, prompting Ankara to raise tariffs on US cars, alcohol and tobacco by the same amount on Wednesday.

Erdogan has repeatedly told Turks to exchange gold and hard currency into lira, saying the country was involved in an economic war. – Reuters HELIOS Towers is investing tens of millions of dollars in the Democratic Republic of Congo and looking for acquisitions as the African phone tower operator seeks to move on from a scrapped initial public offering earlier this year.

The company plans to build 1 800kmof networks linking mobile towers in Congo to con- nect an additional 6 million people in sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country, chief executive officer Kash Pandya said by phone. Helios is striving to improve coverage for Vodacom and Orange SA, which have both been awarded 4G licences in the country, he said.

“We expect a lot of growth in Congo,” the CEO said. “We are also actively looking for deal opportunities inside and outside of the four markets that we operate in,” namely Ghana, Tanzania, Congo and Congo Brazzaville.

Helios, Eaton Towers and African market leader IHS Towers have all abandoned IPOs in 2018 that were intended to raise funds for expansion and to buy towers from telecommunications providers such as MTN.

The most optimistic estimates pegged their potential combined valuation at $15 billion (R218bn). The tower companies are seeking to take advantage of improved internet and data services on the continent. Helios could return to the market for a listing within the next two to three years, Pandya said.

“We received a lot of interest from the equity markets with the listing,” Pandya said. “But we decided it would be better to focus on the growth of the company – top and bottom line – before going back to the market.”

Helios reported a 27 percent increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to $44 million on Wednesday, while sales gained 4 percent.

“In Africa there are 150 000 towers, and only 50 000 are currently owned by tower companies, so there is a lot of opportunity to grow,” Pandya said. – Bloomberg