Bharti Airtel’s Kenyan Unit Adds Market Share for Sixth Quarter

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s Kenyan unit increased its share of mobile-phone subscriptions for a sixth consecutive quarter after adding customers in the first three months of the year, according to data from the industry regulator.

Airtel Networks Kenya Ltd. had 26.1% of subscribers, up from 23.4% in the final quarter of 2018, the Communications Authority said in its latest report. Safaricom Plc, Kenya’s biggest company by market value, lost market share for a seventh quarter, dropping to 62.4% from 63.3%. Telkom Kenya Ltd.’s share fell to 7.9% from 9%.

Mobile-phone subscriptions in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, increased to 51 million from 49.5 million at the end of 2018. Penetration climbed to 106.8% from 106% due to ownership of multiple SIM cards by consumers seeking to take advantage of the competing plans offered by service providers.

There were 32.1 million mobile-money transfer subscriptions and a total of 564.8 million transactions valued at 2.12 trillion shillings ($20.6 billion). The number of internet subscriptions rose to 46.9 million from 45.7 million in the first quarter, according to the report.

Source: Bloomberg Business News