Tigo Takes Over Movistar as Changan Expands in Latin America

Millicom’s takeover of Colombia Telecomunicaciones has replaced the Movistar brand with Tigo, bringing two businesses together in a market where the combined company will reach about 35 million users. The change followed the competition authority’s approval of the integration in November 2025, subject to conditions across 19 markets, including mobile services, home internet and television.

Control of Colombia’s telecom market

Millicom assembled the deal by buying EPM’s stake in January, part of Telefónica’s holdings in February and the national government’s share of Colombia Telecomunicaciones in late April. It has spent US$1.4 billion acquiring shares in the two businesses and plans to invest about US$2.6 billion over four years.

The resulting company will have about 35 million users. Claro, Colombia’s market leader, serves 40.9 million lines, leaving the mobile market with two dominant players, according to the article. Supporters told the competition authority that a larger company with more resources could compete directly with Claro and potentially improve networks and customer offers. The merger’s effect on competition should become clearer in the coming months.

The authority attached conditions to the integration. These require fair rates for smaller operators that rent network access, transparent bundled offers and four years of independent audits. They also bar targeted campaigns against small operators.

Claro answered with a public manifesto: “leadership is not declared, it is demonstrated.” It said Colombia needs the capacity to move, store, process and protect information so technology can translate into productivity and opportunity. Claro said it would keep investing and improving services, but its statement gave no figures.

What customers will see

The company announced the rebrand with the message “Movistar ahora es Tigo” (“Movistar is now Tigo”). Tigo Colombia CEO Carlos Blanco said the company would honor existing contracts, keep prices and billing methods the same, and let customers retain their SIM cards and phone numbers. Customers won’t need a new plan or a store visit.

Bills should begin displaying the Tigo logo in October. From November, the network name on phones is scheduled to switch automatically from Movistar to Tigo, while service-point signage will change gradually. The company said prices won’t rise automatically. Future changes remain possible, but it would announce them in advance under consumer-information rules.

Changan’s regional expansion

Changan Automobile presented its global lineup at Mondial de l’Auto 2026 in Paris under the theme “Firmly Rooted, Growing Together.” It announced upgrades to its Vast Ocean Plan and said it was moving toward global system-based operations.

The CHANGAN CS55 PLUS BlueCore HEV, which uses iDE-H architecture and requires no external charging, appeared at the show and is set to keep rolling out across Latin America. The CHANGAN NEVO Q05, described as a leading-selling family electric SUV in China, made its European debut. It had launched in Colombia and Uruguay since August 2026 and is scheduled to enter Ecuador, Chile, Peru and other Latin American countries.

Changan said worldwide sales reached 2.913 million vehicles in 2025, up 8.5% year over year. New-energy vehicles accounted for 1.109 million, while overseas sales reached 637,000. The upgraded Vast Ocean Plan calls for more than 40 new global models and overseas production capacity exceeding 800,000 units. Changan identified Latin America as a key strategic market and said it was shifting from product exports toward local industrial establishment, drawing on a research and development system spanning five countries and nine centers.