Government to privatise Guine Telecom, Guinetel

The government of Guinea-Bissau is preparing the financial restructuring and revaluation of its nation PTO Guinea Telecom ahead of the proposed privatisation of the operator, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior said last Friday. The PM’s announcement coincided with the release of details on a corporate restructuring of wireline operator Guinea Telecom and its mobile division Guinetel, both of which are 100% owned by the state but currently technically bankrupt. As part of the proposed plan to relaunch the two units, the government has received a budget of CFA7 billion (USD15.6 million) from the African Development Bank and Ecobank, to ‘balance’ the two companies (in technical terms) and then privatise them, he said. ‘The two companies will form part of a single package to be negotiated with potential investors in accordance with the rules and international practices,’ Carlos Gomes Junior said.