Orange (www.Orange.com) announces today that, together with its subsidiary Orange Côte d'Ivoire, it has completed the acquisition of 100% of the mobile operator Airtel in Burkina Faso. Since the signature of an agreement with Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV ("Airtel") in January 2016, Orange has obtained all the official approbations necessary to complete this transaction.

On May 27, 2016, S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Burkina Faso to positive from stable. At the same time, we affirmed our 'B-/B' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings.

Burkina Faso expects an increase in gold mining, its biggest source of foreign currency, to boost economic expansion to 7 percent next year, faster than the International Monetary Fund’s forecast, said National Budget Director Hamadou Sangare.

The outlook is part of the West African nation’s spending and revenue plan for next year, which is currently being debated by the National Assembly, he said by phone on Oct. 2 in Ouagadougou, the capital.

Expansion in the landlocked country will outpace the African average of 5.8 percent, according to the IMF, which forecast growth of 6.4 percent for 2013 from 5 percent this year. Gold production is expected to increase to 65 to 70 tons by 2015, according to Mines, Quarries and Energy Minister Salif Lamoussa Kabore.

Burkina Faso began mining gold for the first time in 12 years when Somita SA, a unit of High River Gold Mines Ltd., started its operation in 2007. The country has seven mines currently, including Iamgold Corp.’s Essakane SA, Semafo Inc. of Canada and Endeavour Mining Corp.

Mining is expected to bring revenue of 842 billion CFA francs ($1.7 billion) to the country this year from 718 billion francs in 2011, Kabore said in an interview on Oct. 1.

“Government wants to diversify the country’s mines,” Kabore said. The World Bank is lending 15 billion francs to compile a data bank of its natural resources, he said.

Source: Bloomberg