China Telecom Global announced the establishment of China Telecom (Africa and Middle East) Limited as the regional headquarters in the African and Middle East (MEA) region. It is a significant milestone for this China-based global company to reinforce its business expansion in the region, as well as to mark a new page for the company’s regional strategically planning in accordance to the Chinese government’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy.
In past years, CTG has expanded its network capabilities to maintain a consistently high level of service and improved accessibility in UAE, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria, and will continue the planning and construction of network expansion across the region. Earlier in March, CTG sealed the deal with Wananchi Group, East Africa’s leading telecom operator for the 428 km National Optical Communication Infrastructure in Malawi to significantly enhance the information capability and stability.
Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent, which accounts for about 15% of the world’s human population. With more than 50 countries in the region, Africa is nonetheless the booming new market with the highest development rate just after Asia, despite the underdeveloped basic infrastructure. According to the African Development Bank Group’s paper in 2015, most services provided by the public sector in Africa are inefficient and backbone services, including telecommunications, are high in cost, which actually created impediments to the overall growth of the region.
Thus CTG is taking this challenge and opportunity to employ its experience in promoting smart city and information technology to boost the development of ICT in the region with the services including Internet, Value Added Services, operations and maintenance outsourcing and consultation, so as to realize Africa’s projection of more than 50% broadband penetration and other development goals including knowledge economy and innovation approaches to mobilization of producers.
Meanwhile, China Telecom (Africa and Middle East) Limited will oversee all the market development, network construction, business development and management of subsidiaries in the region and strive to assist MNCs, in particular the Chinese corporations, to grow their footprint with exquisite potential.
