New reports are emerging that China Mobile is in place to buy Millicom International Cellular (MIC), after South African operator MTN yesterday announced a surprise agreement to acquire Dubai based telecoms investor Investcom for $5.53bn (ВЈ3bn).

As a result of the agreement MTN’s subscriber base would increase to 28.1 million across 21 countries, making it the second biggest mobile operator in the region, behind Egypt’s Orascom Telecom.

Investcom also said it had withdrawn its offer to buy MIC, which has been on sale since January. The news will come as a blow to MIC, with reports indicating Investcom had tabled a leading $5bn offer for the company.

Other bidders in the running for MIC are believed to have placed offers well under $5bn, and China Mobile has been named as a bidding party once again, despite denying interest.

Late last month, the leading Chinese operator denied that it, or its parent, had made a bid for MIC.

Other interested parties are thought to be Egypt’s Orascom, Kuwait’s MTC, Norway’s Telenor and Mexico’s America Movil.

Mobile company Investcom said it launched a new commercial mobile telecommunications services in the Republic of Guinea on Thursday. The company will trade under the name Areeba.

Initial services focus on the country’s capital city, Conakry, with national coverage following soon after, the company said.

Areeba’s services will include national and international mobile services including SMS, multiple and conference calls and voice mail.

Areeba is the fourth mobile operator to launch services in Guinea.

Azmi Mikati, Chief Executive Officer of Investcom said in a statement: “We are delighted to be launching services in a new territory so quickly. Our build out has been efficient and has been delivered on time. Guinea’s mobile and fixed line penetration levels are among the lowest in the world. This fact, combined with the size of the country, represents a great opportunity for the Areeba brand to make considerable impact.”

Areeba was awarded its license to install, operate and manage a GSM cellular network in 2005. Investcom has selected Ericsson for Guinea’s GSM network.

Leading Chinese operator, China Mobile, on Thursday rebuked reports that it has tabled a $4bn (ВЈ2.2bn) bid for Millicom International Cellular (MIC).

The buzz was generated by a report in the Financial Times on Wednesday, which put China Mobile in the frame but did not name sources.

The deadline for the second round of bids for Millicom is expected to expire in the next few days, after the company’s call for acquisition offers in January.

The most likely bidders in the second round are thought to be Egypt’s Orascom, Dubai’s Investcom, Kuwait’s MTC, Norway’s Telenor and Mexico’s America Movil. Vodafone is believed to have lost interest in Millicom.

The China Mobile spokesman did confirm that the operator is looking to acquire assets in emerging markets.

Millicom has operations in Southeast and south Asia, Central America, South America and Africa.