Government says will launch tender to assess impact of TDM/MCel merger – Mozambique

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Government says will launch tender to assess impact of TDM/MCel merger – Mozambique

1:35 CAT | 02 Feb 2017

Folha de Maputo(File photo) / Minister Carlos Mesquita

The government says it is premature to think about the implications of a merger between Mozambican companies Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM) and Moçambique Celular (MCel) into one single more competitive and profitable company.

The state-owned companies face serious financial and human resource problems.

“It is too early to worry about that, we still do not know what is going to happen. It may be that, within the analysis process, the conclusion is that more human resources are needed, and more hiring will be necessary, or we may realize that it is necessary to make a restructuring in order to lay off some employees or give [some employees] training directed to other areas,” said Transport and Communications Minister Carlos Mesquita.

Mesquita, who was speaking yesterday during a meeting taking stock of 2016 activities in the transport and communications sector and prospects for the current year, said that a tender would soon be launched for a consultant to evaluate the impact of the TDM/Mcel merger. “The study is ongoing and we hope that the tender will be launched as soon as possible. From there, we will see what the best proposal for evaluating the impact of the merger is. We have not set a date yet, but it will happen as soon as possible,” Mesquita said.

The two companies have been waiting for a government bailout since last year, both of them facing serious financial and human resources problems. At the end of 2015, during visits to the two telecommunications companies by Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho Rosario, it was confirmed that TDM needed about US$500 million to get through its current financial crisis and Mcel needed to be recapitalized in an undisclosed amount.

The decision to merge the companies was taken in July 2016.

Source: O País