AlbTelecom sale to Calik is finalized

TIRANA, June.19- Albania’s government has sold 76 percent of its landline monopoly to a joint company of Turkey ‘s Calik Group and landline operator Turk Telekom for 120 million euros ($161 million), Economy Ministry spokeswoman Iva Tico said on Tuesday.
“Calik has entered a partnership with Turk Telekom, and it has also agreed to build its own mobile phone network,” Tico explained. The sale of Albtelecom will end Albania ‘s longest privatization saga.
Some of the specific problems that were keeping the issue on hold were the licensing of Eagle Mobile, projected to be the third mobile operator in the country after the existing Vodafone and AMC, as well as internal roaming technicalities which are not granted to Calik. Hence the company will have to create its own infrastructure and cannot use the existing networks, though this is a condition contrary to EU practices. The ban on internal roaming has been widely considered as outright protectionism towards exiting communications monopolies. The telecommunications market in Albania is estimated to be worth $ 500 million of which, if Calik had the internal roaming permit, would grab a share of $300 million within 2-3 years.
Calik was the sole bidder in the tender for Albtelecom in May 2005, but the Democratic Party government, which came to power in July 2005, refused to ratify the deal saying Calik still had to satisfy the condition of having a partnership with a strategic telecoms operator. To satisfy that condition, Calik teamed up with Turk Telekom to form a joint company, 80 percent held by Calik and 20 percent held by Turk Telekom.
Among the controversies, the international auditing firm Deloitte produced an unfavorable report about Calik, which was then used by minister Ruli to justify extra requirements form the Turkish company.
Turk Telekom’s majority owner, Dubai-based Oger Telecom, had said earlier this year it might bid for a majority stake in Albtelecom through Turk Telekom, if Albania would annul the previous tender and starts a new privatization cycle.