Nationalizations are back: Libyans in Zambia now, but who is next?


Posted on January 25, 2012  /  0 Comments

Sounds so 1960s, but . . . This should change investment risk calculations, in Africa for now. But how broad will the ripples run?

The Za­mbian government has confirmed expectations and will renationalise the local mobile network, Zamtel, which is 75% owned by Lybia’s Lap Green Networks.

The government has also dissolved the board of directors and appointed its own interim CEO.

Zamtel’s bank accounts were also frozen last week in an allegedly unrelated investigation into money laundering claims, which the company denies.

The previous government sold the 75% stake in Zamtel to Lap Green Networks in 2010 for US$257 million – a figure which the then-opposition claimed was substantially below the book value for the company.

Story.

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