Celtel International has announced signing of an agreement to acquire 75 per cent of Western Telesystems Ltd (Westel) from the Ghanaian Government for $120 million.

Westel is the second national operator in Ghana and is licensed to provide fixed and mobile telecommunications services. "We are very excited to enter Ghana, one of the most important markets in Africa.

We look forward to offering Ghanaians the quality telecommunications services which we provide in all the countries in which we operate,"said Dr Saad Al Barra, the chief executive officer of Zain - Celtel's parent company. The statement by Zain (formerly MTC Group) was released in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.

"Based on our pan-African experience we are confident that the increased competition in telecommunications will benefit the people of Ghana and support the robust economy of the country,"he said.