Airtel Payments Bank and Airtel Africa are subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel. The new real-time payment service will have millions of Airtel Payments Bank accounts in India and mobile wallet offering across 14 African countries. 

Western Union and Bharti Airtel’s combined service is expected to launch this year. 

Western Union’s partnership with Airtel Payments Bank in India will ensure seamless money transfers in the country. Likewise, its partnership with Airtel Africa will allow more than 15 million Airtel Money mobile wallet users in Nigeria, Uganda, Gabon, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Madagascar, Kenya, Congo, Niger, Tchad, Rwanda and Seychelles, to accept overseas money transfers without any hassle.

Raghunath Mandava, CEO of Airtel Africa, said in a statement, “This partnership will give our customers the convenience and security of directly receiving and sending remittances from their Airtel mobile money wallets. They will now be automatically credited and debited via their Airtel mobile money wallets on their phone and can immediately access the funds to pay bills or merchants and transfer funds to family and friends or convert to cash from the widespread Airtel Money agents, kiosks and branches.”

Airtel Payments Bank has established more than 500,000 banking points across India. Airtel Africa is a leading telecom and mobile money services provider across 14 African countries. 

Currently, Western Union has its presence in more than 100 countries, with 40 banking and payment partnerships. 

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The EACC is probing for any irregularities related to the sale of Telkom’s shares to France Telkom. The anti-corruption agency issued a warning that it would hold the companies accountable if they proceed with the merger without getting clearance from the agency.

According to EACC Director of Legal Services David Too, both the Treasury and the Communications Authority (CA) have been asked not to approve the deal yet.

David Too told the local media, “We have not approved any merger and we have issued advisories to responsible government entities, including the National Treasury, to protect the interests of Kenyans in the approval process.”

A decision to investigate Telkom’s share sale to France Telkom was taken in 2014 by the Public Investment Committee (PIC). The committee approached the EACC in this regard and asked them to carry out a thorough investigation.

Earlier, the local media reported the EACC has given its approval for the merger between Airtel Kenya and Telkom.

The merger was proposed to take on Safaricom, which dominates Kenya’s telecom market with a 65 percent market share. As things stand, the merger will be further delayed as the EACC would give a clearance only after the investigation and the committee does not find any fraudulent practices.

It was also speculated that Safaricom, which sees the merger between Telkom and Airtel Kenya as a threat, is opposing the merger. However, last month, Safaricom Interim CEO Michael Joseph revealed that the company does not oppose the move but wants the issue of frequency allocation to be re-balanced.

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The bill is in its first reading in the National Assembly. Once approved, it will force the telecom companies in Kenya such as Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom Kenya to form separate management for its subsidiaries. The companies will also require to maintain separate accounts.

According to MP Elisha Odhiambo, the new bill would provide for a regulatory framework for such businesses by proving a reporting provision to the Communications Authority (CA) on compliance.

He told the media that, “It gives provisions for penalties for non-compliance. It will aid in the control of anti-competitive practices by the larger industries in the sector.”

According to the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2019, the companies will need to apply for fresh licences from the respective regulators after the split. This is in addition to operating a telecommunication system or providing services as may be specified in the licence granted under Section 25 of the Kenya Information and Communication Act.

Last month, the proposed merger between telecom operator Airtel and Telkom Kenya was suspended by Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. The merger, which was announced in February, was also criticised by the National Assembly. According to the assembly, the merger deal had all the hallmarks of a scandal as it was allowing a public company to be acquired by private interests.

If the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2019 gets approved, it will mean both Airtel and Telkom Kenya will have to split their subsidiaries.

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Ian Ferrao will take the role of Regional Director of Airtel’s East Africa business. He will oversee Airtel’s operations in East African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. He will also be a part of the Africa Executive Committee based in Nairobi.

Airtel Africa CEO Raghunath Mandava told the media that, “He brings a wealth of relevant telecommunications and mobile money experience within the region and will be an asset to the business. He will be part of the Africa executive committee based in Nairobi and will focus on driving growth across voice, data and mobile money in East Africa.”

Ian Ferrao has 12 years of experience in senior management in Africa’s telecommunication industry. Prior to joining Airtel, he held the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Vodacom Tanzania. He also held the role of CEO at Vodacom Lesotho and chief commercial officer at Vodacom Business Africa.

He also holds a BSc Management Sciences degree from the Warwick Business School, UK.

Last month, Airtel Africa announced that it has provided its services to more than 100 million customers in Africa. The telecom operator entered the African telecom market in 2010 through the acquisition of Kuwait-based Zain’s Africa operations for around $10.7 billion.

The company also posted revenue of $795.9 million in the second quarter of 2019. Currently, the company operates in 14 African countries which are Nigeria, Niger, Gabon, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Seychelles and Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, in East Africa.

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The company was scheduled to get listed on July 5 but it was postponed to ensure the company meets its listing requirements. India’s Bharti Airtel owns 68.3 percent stake in the company, which operates in 14 countries across the African continent. Bharti Airtel offered shares in its African unit two weeks ago through a London IPO and said it would dual list in Nigeria.

It also becomes the second company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange as well as the Nigerian Stock Exchange after Seplat. The list of shareholders in the telecom company includes Singapore’s Temasek, Japan’s SoftBank, Singtel and US investment firm Warburg Pincus.

The company’s shares registered in Britain may be moved from the London market to Nigeria once approved but shares registered in Nigeria cannot be moved to London. Recently, Airtel Africa’s main rival MTN also listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in a $6.5 billion flotation

The listing by Airtel Africa in Nigeria is done with an aim to raise $750 million. It will help the company to finance strategic operations and at the same time reduce its debt.

Airtel Africa chairman Sunil Mittal told the media that, “Since first investing in Africa almost nine years ago, we have leveraged our expertise in emerging markets to deliver on a clearly defined strategy to build Airtel Africa into a market-leading mobile service provider, increasingly expanding beyond voice into data services and Airtel Money.”

During the fiscal year which ended in March 2019, the Nigerian market contributed to 35.9 percent of the Airtel Africa’s revenue.

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The company’s shares hit a low of 67 pence against its IPO of 80 pence per share. 

Airtel Africa had set a price range between 80 and 100 pence per share in the week before its public offering. According to Business Daily, the final offer included 744 new shares, with a deal worth £595 million and the initial market capitalisation at approximately £3.1 billion at issue. 

However, the market capitalisation of the company would have been around $3.9 billion on the basis of its offer price. 

Chairman of Airtel Africa Sunil Bharti Mittal, said, “The strong support we have received from institutional investors demonstrates the attractive investment proposition Airtel Africa offers the market. Since first investing in Africa almost nine years ago, we have leveraged our expertise in emerging markets to deliver on a clearly defined strategy to build Airtel Africa into a market-leading mobile service provider, increasingly expanding beyond voice into data services and Airtel Money.”

Airtel Africa operates in 14 African countries and will list on the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges. 

The company’s local subsidiary Airtel Kenya is expected to merge with Telkom Kenya after a binding agreement is signed. Under the terms of the agreement both companies will merge their mobile, enterprise, and carrier services to form a new joint venture. The new joint venture will be called Airtel-Telkom.  

Telkom Chief Executive Mugo Kibati will be appointed Chairman and Airtel Kenya Chief Executive Prasanta Sarma will be the CEO of Airtel-Telkom.

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Airtel Africa is also considering listing its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as well. The exact number of shares to be sold and the indicative price range of the offer will be decided in due course, the company added.

After it is admitted to trading on the LSE premium market, the African mobile operator owned by Bharti Airtel of India will net debt to ebitda ratio of 2.5. Ahead of its London IPO, Airtel Africa had raised $1.25 billion in pre-IPO funding in October last year in addition to another $200 million in January.

In the March quarter of the year, Bharti Airtel’s Africa unit said that it had posted a net profit of $83 million compared to a loss of $49 million a year earlier.

Africa offers a ray of hope for Bharti Airtel with its India business struggling.

Total revenue at Airtel Africa grew 6 percent year-on-year from $736 million to $781 million in the March quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased 12 percent year-on-year from $307 million to $344 million in the March quarter.

Airtel Africa saw its data customers grow to 30 million in the March quarter from 5.1 million in the year before. Its revenue from data services grew 30 percent year-on-year to $192 million. Transaction value on the Airtel Money platform rose 22 percent to $6.8 billion.

Airtel Africa is the holding company for Bharti Airtel’s operations in 14 countries in the continent. It covers 99 million users across three regions: Nigeria; East Africa, comprisingTanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia; and the rest of Africa, comprisingCongo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Gabon, Chad, Madagascar, and Seychelles.

Nigeria accounts for half of Airtel Africa’s ebitda and 40 percent of revenue.

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