Telecommunications in Southeast Europe

SEE INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE Telecommunications in Southeast Europe

August 2009

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This industry overview is an integral part of SEE TOP 100, Edition 2009 – a comprehensive, in- depth guide to the transition economies of Southeast Europe, published be SeeNews.

SEE TOP 100 is a unique ranking of the biggest companies in the region of Southeast Europe. This annual publication comprises: • SEE TOP 100 • SEE TOP 50 Banks • SEE Top 50 Per Capita • SEE Industrial • SEE IPOs • SEE Corporate Manageme nt • SEE TOP 100 CEOs List • SEE Country Profiles • SEE Best Employers • Analyses & Interviews If you are interested in obtaining a hard copy of the SEE TOP 100, Edition 2009, please e- mail us at consulting@seenews.com or call at +359 2 8012 610. The SEE TOP 100 ranking is also available on www.top100.seenews.com.

The top 20 companies in the fourth largest industry in SEE, the telecommunications sector, had a combined revenue of 11.1 billion euro in 2008 against 10.7 billion euro a year earlier.

The ranking was headed by Romanian mobile operators Orange and Vodafone. Three of Romania’s six mobile phone operators made it to the ranking, as well as fixed- line operator RomTelecom, majority owned by Greece's OTE. Bosnia’s two largest operators BH Telecom, operating in the Federation, and Telekom Srpske, in the Serb Republic, ranked 15th and 17th, respectively. Apart from these two operators, Bosnia has one smaller telecoms company, HT Mostar, which operates in the Federation.

Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC), the Albanian arm of Greek wireless operator Cosmote, Makedonski Telekomunikacii and Moldova’s state- owned fixed- line company Moldtelecom, all of which represent the smaller economies in SEE, ranked among the leading 20 operators in SEE, although neither of them was big enough to make it to SEE TOP 100.

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Methodology SEE Industry at a Glance represents a series of sub-rankings of the 20 biggest companies by total revenue within the top five industries in SEE TOP 100: Petroleum/Natural Gas, Electricity, Wholesale/Retail, Telecommunications and Metals. In order to make the ranking more comprehensive, we have looked beyond the 100 companies in our flagship ranking and expanded the scope to the entire pool of over 1,000 enterprises.

Company name

Country

Total revenue 2008

Total revenue 2007

Net Profit/Loss 2008

Net Profit/Loss 2007

1

Orange Romania SA

Romania

1,216.09

1,151.82

404.44

337.60

2

Vodafone Romania SA

Romania

1,154.08

1,112.09

283.19

244.19

3

Telekom Srbija AD*

Serbia

939.81

932.60

62.65

146.06

4

HT - Hrvatske Telekomunikacije d.d.

Croatia

920.88

957.05

327.92

377.27

5

Romtelecom SA

Romania

846.05

838.02

0.99

21.41

6

Mobiltel AD

Bulgaria

678.53

643.39

166.36

159.14

7

T-Mobile Hrvatska d.o.o.

Croatia

641.48

598.20

214.12

181.86

8

VIPNet d.o.o.

Croatia

528.02

517.62

130.86

138.33

9

Bulgarian Telecommunications Company AD

Bulgaria

504.48

502.34

16.39

61.49

Slovenia

493.82

451.94

95.97

84.67

11

Telekom Slovenije d.d.

Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile EAD

Bulgaria

460.06

412.10

53.17

73.42

12

RCS & RDS SA

Romania

457.61

420.15

-21.17

17.11

13

Mobitel d.d.

Slovenia

454.94

438.53

58.95

50.60

14

Telenor DOO*

Serbia

350.57

365.71

38.70

81.52

15

BH Telecom d.d.

B and H

320.86

313.15

73.13

76.19

16

Makedonski Telekomunikacii AD

Macedonia

318.68

306.09

101.85

100.67

17

Telekom Srpske A.D.

B and H

243.09

200.16

60.95

40.44

18

Si.Mobil d.d.

Slovenia

200.21

188.12

32.07

25.42

19

Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC) Sh.a.

Albania

191.30

176.20

100.30

84.60

20

Moldtelecom SA

Moldova

175.74

151.15

26.75

34.35

10

in millions of euro (* ) denotes net sales revenue

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The telecommunications sector in Southeastern Europe (SEE) held steady and even improved its performance last year despite the global financial crisis that brought other businesses to their knees.

The constant need for communication and reduced mobile services rates brought higher profit margins and increasing market shares to operators doing business in the region in 2008. However, the global economic slowdown also brought challenges related to the quality of services and the flexibility of tariffs.

The ample opportunities for expansion and soaring revenues on the still unsaturated SEE market are enticing for the telecoms operators doing business in the region but the increasing popularity of Internet - based means of telecommunication can dent their profits.

Growing SEE Market The highly competitive SEE telecommunications market is serving around 61 million people.

Regardless of their population numbers, even the smallest countries in the region like Albania and Montenegro have at least three mobile operators each.

Montenegro considered calling a tender for a fourth mobile operator in early 2009 and Albania awarded a licence for its fourth wireless operator to Kosovo- based Posta dhe Telekomi i Kosoves (PKT) Sh.a.

Fixed- line operators, losing subscribers to the numerous wireless competitors in SEE, are entering the growing market of mobile services by setting up their own wireless units.

Former state- owned fixed line telecommunication companies in the region, which were sold to foreign private owners, were restructured and upgraded and launched mobile telephony arms.

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Mobile Units of Fixed-line Telecoms Operators in SEE

Country

Mobile unit Eagle Mobile m:tel Vivatel T-Mobile Vala900 T-Mobile Unite T-Mobile Mobitel

Fixed-line Operator

Albania Bosna and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Kosovo Macedonia Moldova Montenegro Slovenia

Albtelecom Sh.a Telekom Srbija AD Bulgarian Telecommunications Company AD HT-Hrvatske Telekominikacije d.d.

Posta dhe Telekomi i Kosoves (PKT) Sh.a.

Makedonski Telekom AD Moldtelecom SA Crnogorski Telekom a.d.

Telecom Slovenije d.d.

Albania’s fixed-line penetration rate of 10.07% was the lowest in SEE in 2008, while Montenegro with 56.85% had the highest fixed- line penetration among the countries in Southeastern Europe. Moldova had the lowest mobile penetration rate in the region last year (66.60%), while Bulgaria had the highest one (140.05%).

160 140

Mobile

Slovenia

Serbia

Romania

Montenegro

Fixed-line

Moldova

Macedonia

Croatia

Bulgaria

Bosnia and Herzegovina

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Albania

per 100 inhabitants

Fixed-line vs. Mobile Penetration in 2008

Source: ITU World Telecommunication Regulatory Database

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3G Opportunities Striving to increase their market shares, telecommunications companies in SEE invested extensively to expand and upgrade their networks in 2008. Larger operators usually reinvest their profits, while the smaller ones seek funding from their parent companies.

Seven mobile operators in SEE were granted 3G licences last year and in the first half of 2009, aiming to further boost their performance and attract new customers.

Wireless operators n i Albania and Kosovo hold only GSM 900 or GSM 900/1800 licences, with Albania intending to grant 3G licences later in 2009.

Ownership Several telecommunications companies in SEE are still majority state- owned: BH Telecom d.d., Hrvatske Telekomunikacije d.d. Mostar, Moldtelecom SA, Telekom Srbija AD and Telecom Slovenije d.d.

Others are majority-owned by foreign peers: Albtelecom Sh.a., Telekom Srpske a.d., HTHrvatske Telekominikacije d.d., Crnogorski Telekom a.d., Makedonski Telekom AD, and Romtelecom SA. Telekom Srbija and Romtelecom have announced plans for bourse listing in 2009 but they are yet to decide what stakes to offer for trading. Both companies are willing to go public simultaneously on their domestic stock exchanges and on the London Stock Exchange.

Four out of the 41 telecommunications companies operating in SEE are currently traded on stock exchanges in the region: Bulgarian Telecommunications Company AD, HT- Hrvatske Telekominikacije d.d., Crnogorski Telekom a.d. and Telecom Slovenije d.d.

Majority Owners of SEE Telecoms

Company name Albania Albtelecom Sh.a. (fixed-line) Albanian Mobile Communications Sh.a.

Vodafone Albania Sh.a.

Eagle Mobile

Majority Owner

Share

CETEL A.S. (Turkey)

92.00%

Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications SA (Greece)

97.60%

Vodafone International Holdings B.V. (the Netherlands) Albtelecom Sh.a (Albania)

51.00% 100.00%

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Bosna and Herzegovina BH Telecom d.d. (fixed-line) Telekom Srpske a.d. (fixed-line)

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina government Telekom Srbija AD (Serbia)

90.00% 65.00%

Hrvatske Telekomunikacije d.d. Mostar (fixed-line ) + HT Eronet (mobile unit)

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

50.10%

Mobilkom Austria AG (Austria)

100.00%

NEF Telecom Bulgaria OOD (Bulgaria)

93.97%

Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications SA (Greece)

100.00%

Deutsche Telekom AG (Germany) Mobilkom Austria AG (Austria) HT-Hrvatske Telekominikacije d.d. (Croatia) Tele 2 AB (Sweden)

51.00% 100.00% 100.00% 51.00%

Kosovo government

100.00%

Telecom Slovenije d.d.(Slovenia) Mobilkom Austria AG (Austria) Magyar Telekom Nyrt. (Hungary) Makedonski Telekom AD (Macedonia)

100.00% 100.00% 51.00% 100.00%

Moldova Moldtelecom SA (fixed-line) + Unite (mobile unit) Orange Moldova SA Moldcell SA Eventis Mobile SRL

Moldovan government France Telecom SA (France) Fintur Holdings B.V. (the Netherlands) Eventis Telecom Holding Ltd. (Cyprus)

100.00% 94.30% 99.90% 51.00%

Montenegro Crnogorski Telekom a.d. (fixed-line) T-Mobile Crna Gora d.o.o.

M:Tel d.o.o.

Magyar Telekom Nyrt. (Hungary) Crnogorski Telekom a.d. (Montenegro) Telekom Srbija AD (Serbia)

76.53% 100.00% 51.00%

Bulgaria Mobiltel AD Bulgarian Telecommunications C ompany AD (fixed-line) + Vivatel (mobile unit) Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile EAD Croatia HT-Hrvatske Telekominikacije d.d. (fixedline) VIPnet d.o.o.

T-Mobile Hrvatska d.o.o.

Tele2 d.o.o.

Kosovo Posta dhe Telekomi i Kosoves (PKT) Sh.a. (fixed-line) + Vala900 (mobile unit) Macedonia Cosmofon Mobile Telecommunications AD VIP Operator DOOEL Makedonski Telekom AD (fixed-line) T-Mobile Macedonia AD

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Romania Romtelecom SA (fixed-line) Telemobile SA (ZAPP) Cosmote Romanian Mobile Telecommunications SA Vodafone Romania SA Orange Romania SA

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) SA (Greece) Saudi Oger Ltd. (Saudi Arabia)

54.01% 100.00%

Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications SA (Greece) Vodafone Group Plc (the UK) Orange SA (France)

70.00% 100.00% 94.00%

Romanian Cable Systems and Romania Data System (RCS&RDS) (fixed-line)

European Privatization & Investment Corporation (Austria) and Quadrant Technologies Inc. (USA)

60.00%

JP PPT Saobracaja Srbija (Serbia) Mobilkom Austria AG (A ustria) Sonofon ASA (Denmark)

80.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Slovenian government Mobilkom Austria AG (Austria) Telecom Slovenije d.d.(Slovenia) ACH d.d. (Slovenia) Tus d.d. (Slovenia)

52.54% 100.00% 100.00% 88.00% 100.00%

Serbia Telekom Srbija AD (fixed-line) VIP Mobile DOO Telenor DOO Slovenia Telecom Slovenije d.d. (fixed-line) Si. Mobil d.d.

Mobiltel d.d.

Debitel Telekomunikacije d.d.

Tusmobil d.o.o.

Promoting competition Rigorous legislation and incentives for market liberalization in the telecommunications sector promoted competition, with small exceptions, throughout the SEE region, according to ITU, the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues.

The table below estimates the level of competition in the telecommunications sector in the countries of Southeastern Europe:

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Country Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Macedonia Moldova Montenegro Romania Serbia Slovenia

Note: M - Monopoly; P- Partial compet ition; C - Full competition

Fixedline telecoms

Mobile operators

C

P

C P C M C C C M C

C P C C C C C C C

Source: SeeNews

Foreign Presence on the SEE Market The thriving and unsaturated mobile telecommunications market of Southeastern Europe happened to be a boon for operators based outside the region. Of these operators, Greece’s Cosmote and Mobilkom Austria enjoy the strongest presence in the region, each holding controlling stakes in five telecoms in five different countries. Other foreign majors that control telecoms in the SEE region are Deutsche Telekom (through Magyar Telekom) and France Telecom (through Orange).

British telecoms group Vodafone is active in SEE through its subsidiaries in Albania and Romania.

Major Mobile Operators Mobilkom Austria AG (Austria) Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications SA (Greece) Deutsche Telekom AG (Germany) Vodafone Group Plc (the UK) France Telecom SA (France)

Footprint Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia Albania, Bulgaria, Romania Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro Albania, Romania Moldova, Romania

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