Quick View: Limited Investment Options For Telekom Srbija In North Macedonia

摘要

The Latest: Telekom Srbija is to expand its Balkans footprint with the establishment of a new entity in North Macedonia,under the m:tel brand. Media reports claim Telekom Srbija will begin by offering satellite TV services by September 2021,progressing to mobile and broadband services by the end of 2021.Implications: The North Macedonian telecoms market is mature and has few growth prospects. Mobile subscriptions have steadilydeclined in the past five years, peaking at 2.05mn subscribers in Q416; there were 1.86mn subscriptions as of Q121. As the prepaidsegment has borne the brunt of this shrinkage, we believe that any new entrant would have to target the post-paid and convergentservices segments, a high-risk strategy for any player, so options for m:tel include acting as a reseller, establishing a virtual offering orbuying an existing network.