Naguib Sawiris, the enigmatic executive chairman of Orascom Telecom, has told the Show Daily that the global operator market is on the verge of a major shakeup that will see many smaller players swallowed.

In an exclusive interview ahead of a speaker appearance at Congress Wednesday, Sawiris expressed his belief that “the next few years will witness major consolidation in the telecom operator market. All small and medium-sized operators are looking for appropriate M&A deals to be able to secure themselves a place on the new world map of telecom players. I personally think by the year 2011, the operator market will look significantly different, comprising of a number of big operators.”

For the industry’s smallest players, the prognosis on their long-term health is particularly uncertain, believes Sawiris. “The really small operators will ultimately be eaten up, or will only exist in markets with their own specific conditions.”

Sawiris himself has an established record in successful M&A, helping give his comments credibility.  Egypt-based Orascom Telecom operates networks in a number of high growth markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Operations in countries such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Tunisia, as well as its home market, have given Orascom a customer base of over 70 million as at the end of last year (on a proportionate ownership basis), according to Wireless Intelligence. That is not including its stakes in the established WIND mobile networks in Italy and Greece.

The company boasts very healthy financials, having reported net revenue for the first nine months of 2009 of US$3.765 billion and Q4 2009 profit of US$180.9 million (almost double what it recorded in the year earlier quarter).

Meanwhile Orascom has recently made high-profile moves into Canada and North Korea. The Canadian venture launched at the end of last year (through its indirect equity shareholding in Globalive Wireless), whilst its North Korean 3G venture is treading new ground in a country where commercial mobile services have not previously been successful. Indeed, Orascom’s presence marks the first major investment in the state by an international operator.

“We are very pleased with our operation in North Korea so far,” commented Sawiris. “Our growth there has been steadily going according to plan.” Indeed, reports earlier this month said the operation has already attracted over 100,000 subscribers.

With other reports suggesting the operator will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the arguably high-risk network in the next few years, Sawiris appears to be in the market for the long-run. “We have plans for continued growth in this market. We believe that the coming years will witness an even more accelerated growth, like the typical growth curve of most virgin markets.”

Recently linked to a move into France (first via a rumoured acquisition of Bouygues, and then via ownership of the country’s fourth 3G license, since awarded to Iliad’s Free Mobile), it is likely that Orascom will continue to target new growth opportunities. After ten years of major expansion, however, Sawiris hinted that the operator will look to adopt a prudent approach to any M&A. “Orascom Telecom has now emerged into being a global player.  We are not concentrating on or looking for any particular geographical region.  Our interest when we consider M&A’s is to search for the partner who would provide the most synergies with our group to ensure maximum value addition through this marriage.”