2007
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Etisalat eyes African investments
Etisalat Chairman Mohammed Hassan Omran has said the UAE based telco firm is looking to invest up to $5bn in Africa, according to Reuters. The firm acquired a controlling stake in Zanzibar Telecom in Tanzania last month and has a 40% shareholding in a new Nigerian operator established in September. The firm has spent more than $6.5bn on foreign acquisitions in the past three years.
Batelco targets payphones
Batelco is seeking feedback from its customers regarding its public payphone services across the kingdom. A number of older payphones, which are rarely used by the public, have been targeted for possible removal and they have now been marked with stickers; Batelco wants customers to contact them within the next 60 days if they have any objections to the removal of the phones.
Virgin finds Indian partner
Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the UK's Virgin Group, has said he has joined forces with an Indian telecommunications firm and would 'reveal all' in the next two months, reported Reuters. Foreign telco firms need to pair up with a local partner in India as they are only allowed to own a maximum of 74% of their operation. Branson is also keen to enter the country's domestic airline sector.
UAE mobile penetration at 170%
Mohammed Hasan Omran, Etisalat's Chairman, has said that the mobile penetration rate in the UAE is currently in the region of 160-170%, reported Gulf News. Etisalat recently announced that it has a total of 6.3m customers while new telco outfit du has just racked up one million subscribers. The UAE is estimated to have a population of around 4.3m.
i2 hits 10m sales
Saudi Arabian mobile phone retailer i2 has revealed it has sold 10m handsets across the Middle East and Gulf region so far this year, as of October 15. The firm racked up sales of 5.5m across 22 markets in 2006, generating revenues of $1.3bn which was an increase of $837m on the previous year. The development of i2 magazine, i2 cafe and i2 club has helped to broaden its reach.
Etisalat counts 6.3m customers
Etisalat has announced that its mobile customer base has crossed 6.3m customers, allegedly making it the world's leading telecom operator in terms of mobile penetration. The firm now offers a 3G or 3.5G network to 97% of the UAE's populated areas. Etisalat has launched a host of services in recent months and its mobile TV offering now has 230,000 subscribers.
Oman to issue re-sale licences
Oman's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is inviting applicants to bid for licences to re-sell basic public mobile communications services in the country, reported the Oman News Agency. Licence holders will buy transmission minutes from the existing operators Nawras and Oman Mobile, at wholesale rates, and then re-sell them at retail rates. The TRA will issue an 'infinite' number of licences but applicants must meet certain technical and financial requirements.
Mobily to spend $1.1bn
Saudi Arabian mobile telco operator Mobily is to spend $1.1bn developing its broadband and wireless networks over the next two years, reported Reuters citing CEO Khaled Al Kaf. The firm has already spent $1.4bn since 2005 establishing its mobile network. Mobily recently lost out on winning a licence to offer fixed line services in the kingdom and faces competition from Kuwait's Zain when it starts Saudi's third mobile firm next year.
One million say I 'du'
New UAE based telco outfit du, which launched its services nine months ago, has said it has now clocked up 1m customers. This means that almost 22% of the country's population has so far signed up with the firm, which endured a number of teething problems in its first few months. To mark the milestone, du launched a limited edition pay as you go 'million pack' just last week.
Zain plans $1.9bn Saudi IPO
Kuwaiti telco firm Zain's Saudi Arabian unit will look to raise around $1.9bn in an initial public offering (IPO) to help finance its start-up mobile operation, reported Bloomberg. CEO Marwan Al Ahmadi said the firm plans to sell 700m shares, at SR10 per share, within the next three months. Regulatory approval has already been sought for the transaction which would see 40% of the firm sold off.
Vivendi closes on Oger
France's Vivendi is closing in on a minority stake in Dubai based Oger Telecom according to its Chairman Jean-Bernard Levy and cited by Reuters. It was reported back in September that the Paris based outfit was eyeing a 33% holding in Oger. Levy said progress was being held up by Oger's involvement in the privatisation of Turk Telecom.
Telecom Egypt to sell Lacom
Telecom Egypt, the country's fixed-line telephone sited a 12.3 per cent rise in net profit for the first nine months of 2007, to 1.7 bn Egyptian Pounds. Total revenue reached 7.5 billion pounds, a 7.8 per cent increase over the same period in 2006. This came after the company said it was planning to sell its joint venture in Algeria Lancom, reported Reuters.
GCC to spend $375bn on expansion
The six countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council will spend up to $375bn on the expansion of telecommunications and related infrastructure over the next decade, reported Gulf News. About 25% of the multi-billion dollar GCC infrastructure development budgets will be spent on expanding telecommunications.
Egypt's Orascom sells Hutchison shares
Orascom Telecom Holdings has sold about 95 million shares in the Chinese telecom giant Hutchison Telecommunications International, cutting its stake in the company to 14.3 per cent from 16.3 per cent, Reuters reported. The total price of the shares amounted to $193m.
Samsung launches D880 phone
Samsung has launched Samsung D880 in the Middle East, the newest dual SIM card mobile phone that brings various multimedia features to Samsung's advanced mobile phones portfolio. The device automatically switches between SIM cards according to the consumer's needs and network access. The phone enables the user to use two active lines separately which eliminates the need to carry one phone per active SIM card.
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