Even in Iraq, through MTC Atheer, we are using the best means to provide SMS and hopefully GPRS services in the future.
However it is not the technologies that are in the end in mind but rather the services that we can provide using these technologies.
Q. How does your relationship with Vodafone work in practice in the region, and how will this assist in your development?
A. Our relationship with Vodafone is a purely branding relationship that only extends to two countries, Kuwait and Bahrain. Elsewhere we are competing with Vodafone for new markets.
Our relationship with Vodafone stems from the fact that to succeed globally you must quickly learn and gain the qualities needed to be a global player.
When I first entered MTC, I knew that we had to attach ourselves to a giant in the mobile industry in order to gain best of breed practices in the most efficient and cost effective manner and this is what led to the signing of the co-branding agreement with Vodafone three months later.
Q. Who are the key owners of MTC? How much of the company is in free float?
A. MTC is a Kuwait Shareholding Company incorporated in 1983 with shares traded on the Kuwait stock exchange with a market valuation of 6.0005 billion dollars, with consolidated per earning shares in 2004 worth 237 fils per share.
The Kuwait Investment Authority, a public government holding company, owns 24.6% of these shares. The rest of the MTC's shares are free float, with National Investment Company holding around 14%.
Q. Regional stock markets such as Kuwait seem overvalued. Does this cause you a problem is funding acquisitions? Or do you have other financial resources available?
A. As I stated earlier one of the key strength's of MTC is its financial situation. With regards to your statement of overvaluation, in MTC's case if you apply international global benchmarks relevant to our peer group we are undervalued.
As such this is not an issue for us when it comes to funding our expansion plans, as any investor would note that MTC has an extremely strong balance sheet with low debt, so we have multiple sources of funding to allow us to move forth with our strategy.
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Dr. Saad Al Barrak (page 2 of 2)
- Kuwait: Tuesday, March 01 - 2005 at 15:56
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Peter J. CooperTuesday, March 01 - 2005 at 15:56 UAE local time (GMT+4)
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This article was updated on Sat May 26 2007.
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