Egyptian telecoms firm Orascom Telecom on Thursday said it expects to boost capital expenditure in Bangladesh and Pakistan this year and could lower it in Algeria depending on the operating environment there.
The firm expects to increase overall capital expenditure by about $200 million over last year’s figure, mostly in the two South Asian markets where its subscriber base has been growing, Chief Financial Officer Aldo Mareuse told a conference call.
"As you can see from the numbers, growth is resuming in both these markets, so we are going to increase CAPEX in both these markets," he said, adding that capital expenditure could fall in Algeria.
Orascom is contesting a $597 million tax bill Algeria says it owes, and has been negotiating to sell some or all of its assets to South Africa’s MTN, including its Algerian unit Djezzy.
Algeria has jeopardized the deal with what it claims is its right of first refusal should Djezzy come up for sale.
