Portugal Telecom, PortugalÔÇÖs largest telecoms service provider, has said it will turn to the high-growth markets of Africa and Brazil to increase its market share, the Financial Times reported.
The company is seeking to increase its number of subscribers by almost 50 per cent and lift the contribution of overseas operations to its total operating revenue from half to two-thirds.
The Lisbon-based firm is seeking to invest in mobile operators in sub-Saharan Africa, expanding from its existing operations in Angola, Namibia and Cape Verde.
Mozambique is one of the target markets for the Portuguese company.
Zeinal Bava, the companyÔÇÖs CEO, has also described Brazil as ÔÇ£absolutely core and strategicÔÇØ to the business.
He emphasised that the company has no plans to sell its 50 per cent stake in Vivo, Brazil's biggest mobile operator, to Spanish company Telef├│nica, which owns the other 50 per cent.
Telef├│nica offered Portugal Telecom more than Ôé¼3 billion for its stake in 2007, and remains eager to gain full control.
Vivo was among the biggest contributors to Portugal TelecomÔÇÖs net profit of Ôé¼371.9 million for the first nine months of 2009, announced yesterday.
Mobile penetration in Brazil is currently around 80 to 85 per cent, which is low compared with other big Latin American countries, where it is 100 per cent.
Bava said Brazil would help the company reach its medium-term target of 100 million mobile subscribers, up from 68 million today.
He estimated that mobile networks will account for the biggest share of the growth of internet and other data services in Brazil, since they offer greater coverage and more bandwidth than the country's fixed-line networks.
Analysts have forecast strong growth in the use of the internet in the Latin American country, with the number of computer owners expected to rise by up to 50 million over the next five years.
Portugal TelecomÔÇÖs focus on its home turf is now to increase its market share. Bava said the company aims to extend its fibre-optic network to one million homes over the medium term, which would be the third-highest penetration rate in the world after South Korea and Japan.
The companyÔÇÖs total operating revenue in the first three quarters of this year was Ôé¼4.79 billion.
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