Nedjma launches new subscriptions (Algeria)
Algerian mobile operator Nedjma, has launched two new offerings Nedjma Pro 1200 and Pro 2400, for its business customers.
These two new subscriptions allow an optimal mastery of communication budget through their many advantages, thought so to meet the needs of most demanding business customers.
Unpublished in the domestic market of mobile telephony, Pro 1200 and Pro 2400 are the only companies that offer subscription prices that appeal to customers. The lines are priced at $16 and $18.8 per month without any additional fee. Further, users can also enjoy free calls up to 360 hours per month.
Court postpones Djezzy’s $1.25 billion fine (Algeria)
The appeal hearing regarding a $1.25 billion fine on Djezzy has been postponed until May 27 as reported by Reuters. The appeal hearing on the local mobile phone unit of Russian telecoms firm Vimpelcom had already been postponed once, a week earlier.
As per the report, Djezzy chief executive Tamer El Mahdy, who has been convicted in the case and faces jail if the conviction is upheld, was not in court for Sunday’s hearing. A lower court ruled in March that Djezzy and its CEO were guilty of violating foreign exchange regulations. Djezzy’s parent company denied the allegations against it and its chief executive, and lodged an appeal.
Reuters reveals that Djezzy has been the subject of a long-running dispute with the Algerian government, during which the firm has been hit by back-tax demands, threatened with nationalisation, and put under criminal investigation. Vimpelcom acquired Djezzy last year when it bought the assets of previous owner, Egyptian firm Orascom Telecom.
Under pressure from the Algerian government, Vimpelcom agreed to talks on selling a controlling stake in Djezzy to the Algerian state. However, the decision to impose the $1.25 billion fine soured those talks and prompted Vimpelcom to announce it was going to international arbitration against Algeria.
Algeria may pay $6.5 billion for Djezzy (Algeria)
Algeria may be required to pay $6.5 billion to acquire a controlling stake in Vimpelcom’s Algerian mobile phone unit, a top finance ministry source said on Wednesday, potentially ending a dispute that has dragged for over a year, as reported by Reuters.
The report revealed that the a source said that the deal is that Algeria will pay $6.5 billion to acquire 51 percent of Djezzy.
Russia-focused Vimpelcom acquired Djezzy last year as part of a $6 billion deal to buy the assets of Egyptian firm Orascom Telecom, but the transaction immediately became clouded in uncertainty after the Algerian government said it wanted a majority stake in the unit. Djezzy was the most lucrative part of Orascom’s business.
Algeria to auction 3G licences soon (Algeria)
Moussa Benhamadi, Algerian Minister of Post, Information and Communication Technologies has reportedly said that telecom operators in Algeria will receive 3G licences once an agreement is reached between Djezzy and Vimpelcom.
As per reports, Benhamadi said that the Ministry of Finance should resume in the upcoming weeks the talks to reach an agreement over the purchase of Djezzy’s 51 percent stake.
Further, Algerian Minister of Finance Karim Djoudi said that negotiations with Vimpelcom are ongoing. Until now the price has not been specified. They will work in these negotiations to set the real value. He said that the three operators, Mobilis, Djezzy and Nedjma would be able to bid for 3G frequencies following settlement of the dispute.
Djezzy may appeal judgement on foreign exchange regulations breach (Algeria)
Algerian company Djezzy, a unit of Orascom Telecom Holding, is planning to appeal a court judgement which alleges that the operator has breached the regulations for foreign exchange.
As per reports, Orascom Telecom has released a statement that says OTA maintains that OTA and its senior executive have acted in compliance with the law and OTA is taking the necessary steps to file an appeal. The lodging of the appeal will provisionally suspend the judgment. The management in Algeria has OTH’s full support.
Reports reveal that Orascom Telecom said the court decision consists of fines of about $1.3 billion and includes a criminal sentence against a member of Djezzy’s senior executive team.
Wataniya posts soaring profits on the back of revenue jump (Kuwait)
The Kuwaiti telco witnesses a robust growth in revenue on the back of strong domestic and Algeria operations.
Wataniya Telecom also, known as National Mobile Telecommunications Co. based in Kuwait stated that its net profit for the second quarter rose by 18.7% to $85.4 million from $71.9 million the preceding year for the same period; Tunisian operations have been significantly attributed by the jump in revenue.
Earlier, analysts had predicted a figure in the tune of $83.68 million while one other source forecast $74.87 million; the telecom’s results have exceeded them all.
There was an increase of 35.2% in revenue for the quarter to $669.11 million as compared to $494.76 million in the same quarter the preceding year.
The telco also witnessed a rise in its customer base by 6.8% to hit 16.9 million by the end of the second quarter, as compared to 15.8 million for the same period the preceding year.
According to Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman of Wataniya Telecom, Year on Year revenue increase of 15.4% in Kuwait and 30.6% in Algeria shows that investments of previous periods are starting to pay off and that they are capable of driving progress in competitive markets. On the other hand, Tunisiana’s robust performance demonstrates the ability to overcome challenges and produce solid results.
Qatar Telecom or Qtel which is the Gulf Arab state’s largest telecom operator, in partnership with Tunisian investment firm Princesse Holding asserted on November 22 that they would pay Orascom Telecom $1.2 billion for its 50% stake in its Tunisian unit, Tunisiana. Eventually, Qtel completed the acquisition through Wataniya Telecom whose majority stakes it owns. In addition, Qtel had raised its stake in Tunisiana to 75% earlier this year.
Algeria mobile data revenues reached $801 mn in 2010
A recent report has revealed that Algeria is likely to not launch 3G to the market, and instead make the leap to more advanced technologies, like LTE.
As per the study, despite the lack of reliable mobile broadband technology, mobile data generated US$801 million in revenues in 2010. Mobile data revenue is expected to have a strong showing over the forecast period with a revenue CAGR of 19.7% between 2010 and 2015.
STC rolls-out offer for international calls (Saudi Arabia)
STC has introduced Sawa International, offering international calls to selected countries from US$0.14 per minute.
The company claims this is the cheapest international fare for prepaid cards in the country.
Under the new offer, STC customers can make discounted calls to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and Philippines for US$0.14 per minute, while calls to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Libya, Lebanon and Nepal cost US$0.18 per minute.
Calls to Kuwait and UAE cost US$0.23 per minute. The discounted rate for calls to Morocco, Algeria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea is 102 halls per minute and calls to Somalia are US$0.34 per minute.
STC announced that this offer is available to all Sawa and Lana customers for one month starting 13 May.
Nedjma Q1 revenues rise by 38% (Algeria)
Nedjma has reported that its revenues grew by 38% year-on-year in Q1 to US$185.09 million.
At the same time, EBITDA improved by 50% versus the year-ago quarter to US$69.97 million. Its number of customers decreased owing to ongoing subscriber base clean up, while it’s corporate based continued to grow.
At the end of Q1, the operator had 8.076 million customers, compared to 8.276 million a year-ago. By the number of customers, it has a market share of 30 percent that is one percent lower than in Q1 2010.
Blended ARPU rose to US$7.39 versus US$7.03 in the previous quarter and US$5.32 in the year-earlier period.
Orascom Telecom FY revenues rise by 2%, EBITDA grows 4% (Egypt)
Orascom Telecom has posted revenues of US$3.82 billion for 2010, an increase of 2% from a year earlier, and EBITDA improved 4% to US$1.58 billion.
According to the company, it saw solid growth across all its GSM operations, apart from Algeria, where it has suffered from its dispute with the government. The figures exclude Tunisiana, which was sold in January to Qtel.
The company’s net profit doubled to US$781 million, thanks to a gain of US$300 million on the restructuring of its shareholding in Egypt’s Mobinil. Orascom finished the year with net debt of US$4.0 billion, equal to 2.5 times EBITDA.
Including the proceeds from Tunisia, net debt was 1.9 times EBITDA. The company had 101.68 million customers at year-end, up from 87.64 million in 2009 and 97.52 million in September 2010. Growth was driven by Bangladesh, as well as higher customer numbers in Lebanon, Canada, Africa and North Korea. ARPU for the last three months slid to US$4.5, from US$5.1 a year ago and US$4.6 in Q3. Capex for 2010 declined to 13%to US$660 million, or 17.3% of sales.
