2007
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Zain $820.5m 9-month income
Kuwaiti telco operator Zain has revealed that its consolidated revenues reached $4.3bn over the first nine months of the year, up from $3.1bn over the same period in 2006. Net income reached $820.5m, up from $731.7m, an increase of 12% over the same period last year. The firm also has an active customer base of 36.5m customers in 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Omantel $215.2m 9-month profit
The Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) has posted a net profit of $215.2m for the first nine months of the year. The total represents a 36.2% increase on the same period last year when the telco firm earned $158m. Meanwhile, total group revenue at the end of September had risen by 12.5% to $702.6m when compared to the $624.8m accrued in 2006.
Nuetel, BT agreement
Nuetel Communications, a Bahraini telecommunication provider, has awarded a multi-million dollar operations, marketing and consultancy contract to the UK's BT. Under the agreement, BT will operate Nuetel's infrastructure for the next three years and provide round-the-clock technical support, monitoring and the roll-out of converged services. The outsourcing tie-up will also see the resale of BT's worldwide services.
du offers 'million pack'
UAE based telco outfit du has unveiled a limited edition pay as you go package to mark the imminent signing up of its one millionth customer. The 'million pack' provides a pre-paid line at a discounted rate and customers should look out for pay as you go packs bearing distinctive stickers promoting the offer. The packs can be found at all du shops and also at all authorised dealers.
Umniah offers WiMAX
Jordanian mobile provider Umniah, a subsidiary of Bahrain's Batelco, has launched WiMAX wireless broadband services in the kingdom under its new Umax trade mark. Initially, the Umax service will cover around 30% of Amman with other governorates to follow in later phases. Umniah will also offer a number of schools in Jordan free WiMAX services.
Zain mulls capital increase
Kuwaiti telecommunications firm Zain has said it is considering a capital increase in order to help fund its expansion programme, reported Reuters. The firm has yet to decide how much capital it will seek to raise or at what price it might sell any additional shares. Earlier in the year, the firm headed a consortium which paid more than $6bn for Saudi Arabia's third mobile phone licence.
Qtel in 5.6% Q3 profit slip
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has suffered its second straight quarterly profit slip as a result of its borrowing to pay for acquisitions such as its stake in Kuwait's Wataniya, reported Reuters. Qtel's financing costs had risen to $85.2m by the end of September and this resulted in a 5.6% dip in profits in Q3. The telco firm earned $115.4m in the last quarter, down from $122.2m in the same period last year.
Qtel SMS News Alerts
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has introduced an SMS News Alerts feature to its Mozaic MOB service, reported The Peninsula. The SMS feature will offer breaking news, including business, politics, sport and entertainment, from Egypt and Lebanon, in both Arabic and English. News updates will be sent up to four times a day and subscription costs QR2.5 a week.
Etisalat waits on Omantel
Ahmad Julfar, Etisalat's Chief Operating Officer, has said the UAE based telco outfit is waiting to see what conditions are imposed by Oman's government on the sale of a 19% stake in Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) before deciding whether to launch a bid, reported Reuters. Etisalat has spent $6.5bn on foreign acquisitions in the past three years and a 19% holding in Omantel would cost around $620m.
Samsung 29m Mena target
Samsung is hoping to have sold a total of 29m mobile handsets in the Mena region by the end of next year, reported the Khaleej Times. It is hoped 14m will have been bought by the end of 2007, up from 7.5m last year. Samsung is targeting sales of 1.5m in Saudi Arabia alone to lift its market share from 8% to around 30%.
Omantel closes on Worldcall
Oman Telecom (Omantel) is to pay $200m for a 65% stake in Pakistan's mobile and long-distance operator Worldcall Telecom, reported the Dow Jones newswires. The deal was first mentioned back in June and the transaction will give the Omani firm a foothold in the world's third fastest growing telco market, according to analysts. Pakistan has a population of 160m but only 33% possess a mobile telephone.
Murdoch acquires web portal
Australia's REA Group, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has acquired Dubai real estate portal AlBabWorld.com and relaunched it under the name of propertyfinder.ae, reported 7Days. Founders Michael Lahyani and Leonard Dionisotti will retain 49% of AlBabWorld.com through their Swiss Media Group and continue to operate the business. REA Group, the world's largest online real estate advertising network with 16 web sites in ten countries, paid $1m for AlBabWorld and injected $2.1m.
New Arab audio sharing service
d1g.com, the leading Arabic portal for rich digital media, has launched 'A9waat', a new service that allows people to listen, upload and share personal audio clips. The new service, which is the Arabic word for 'Sounds' or 'Audio' and is pronounced 'Aswaat' is the first of its kind in the Middle East targeting Arab Internet users. A9waat is built on d1g.com's video sharing network which currently serves more than 2 million video clips per month.
Alkan to bid for Egyptian license
Alkan CIT holding has announced its intention to compete for the second fixed-line telephone license that will be rolled out by the Egyptian government over the next year. Khaled Nosseir, VP of Alkan, said the company will be leading an alliance consisting of a number of local, Arab and international investors.
Maktoob.com is largest Arab site
A recent third-party audit of Maktoob.com has revealed that it is the largest Arab online community in the Middle East. During the month of June, 6,969,475 unique users visited the web site, with a daily average of 463,105 visitors. The audit was conducted by UK-based ABC Electronic.
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