Batelco sells 42.7 per cent stake in Indian venture STel (Bahrain, India)
Telecom operator Bahrain Telecommunications Co, commonly known as Batelco, is the first operator to sell its stake in an Indian venture following the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict for cancellation of 122 2G licences. According to reports, Batelco has sold its 42.7 per cent stake in STel, to Sky City Foundation for US$175 million.
As per a statement made by Batelco, this is a part of an earlier understanding with its Indian partner to exit, given the circumstances surrounding the 2G probe in India over the past 12 months. Reports reveal that Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa, CEO, Batelco Group has said that as Batelco continues to grow and diversify its operations, they remain interested in other investment opportunities that will enable them to participate in the Indian telecom market. He said that they are actively exploring all options in this respect.
Sources claim that the verdict will result in a cancellation of six licences for telecom operator STel. As reported earlier, Telenor Norway, which offers services in India under the brand Uninor, had also hinted at a possibility of exiting the Indian mobile market owing to the cancellation of the licences acquired in 2008.
Batelco to review future of business operations in India (Bahrain, India)
The Supreme Court’s decision to cancel all 122 2G licences in India seems to be having a ripple effect in the Indian telecom industry. According to reports, Batelco seems to be following Telenor’s footsteps in deciding its future in the Indian mobile market.
The company has issued a statement claiming that Batelco’s India affiliate STel will review the sustainability of its operations under the revised terms imposed by a recent court order. The operator says that whilst the immediate focus is on STel’s customers, employees and suppliers, STel shareholders will also review the sustainability of its business operations under the revised conditions imposed by the court’s recent judgement impacting the telecoms industry.
The statement added that Batelco was not involved in the STel licence application process nor had any knowledge of any of the events surrounding the granting of the 2G licences in January 2008. Further, Batelco holds 42.7 per cent equity in STel since May 2009. As at December 31, 2011, Batelco’s carrying value of its equity in STel is $123.3 million.
Further, Batelco invested in STel following a diligence exercise with the support of financial and commercial advisers. It also received certain representations and warranties from STel’s promoter regarding the validity of the licence. The firm respects and abides by all legal and regulatory rulings and determinations in every market it operates. Batelco will review, together with other STel shareholders, all legal options following the handing down of the Indian Supreme Court judgement.
Finally, as Batelco continues to grow and diversify its operations, it intends to explore all options to remain involved in the Indian telecommunications market.
Zain Saudi shares dip as sale of its stake fails (Saudi Arabia)
Kingdom Holding Co. and Bahrain based Batelco had planned to acquire a quarter of Zain Saudi for $950 million, but have now dropped the idea saying that terms of the deal were not met. Following the failure of this deal, Zain Saudi seeks to go ahead with a multibillion dollar capital restructuring.
The firm has accumulated losses of about $2.3 billion and has to cut its capital in order to comply with Saudi Arabia bourse rules. As per reports, Zain Saudi Chairman, Prince Hussam Bin Saud has said that they expect to achieve high growth levels and turn into profit as soon as the period for capital restructuring is completed, which is expect to speed up after the failure of the deal to sell Zain Kuwait’s share.
As per reports, industry analysts say Zain Saudi’s $6.1 billion license fee has left it short of cash and struggling to compete in Saudi’s Arabia’s saturated mobile market. The shares dropped by 4.8 percent reporting the largest intraday loss since August 6, and traded down 3.2 percent at $ 1.61 in Riyadh.
Batelco records more than 10 million customers using their network (Bahrain)
The Batelco Group based in Bahrain announced achieving the 10 million customers landmark. The network operator was celebrating its 30th anniversary.
It was also announced by the Chairman of Batelco that the company posted a $102.9 million net profit for half way through the year 2011. However, they posted revenues worth $432.9 million, down by 4% as compared to last year.
Batelco Group Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kaliaropoulos believes that the financial results produced by Batelco for the half year 2011 remain in line with market guidance.
The Group also owns 96% stake in its Jordan based subsidiary, Umniah. They boast of 2.3 million customer base that represents worthwhile growth of 8% in terms of mobile subscribers since the start of the year.
On the other end, STel in India recorded a 43% rise since the beginning of 2011 by way of providing mobile services to 3.3 million users.
In addition, since the first quarter of 2011, the overall mobile customer base of Batelco has witnessed a slight increase of 2%. On the other hand, wireless broadband services provided by Batelco posted growth of 14%. The customer shift to mobile services has seen the downfall of the fixed line services though.
In their bid to purchase 25% of Zain KSA, in partnership with Kingdom Holding Company, the Batelco Group has seen significant headway.
Bahrain ushers in mobile number portability
There are three mobile network operators in the country of Bahrain. Mobile number portability has been launched in the country among all the mobile network operators. In addition, landline number portability is to be ushered in, in the month of October.
The MNP implementation in Bahrain will be ‘recipient-led’ which means subscribers opting for this facility will only need to get in touch with the operator. Also, the previous operator shall not directly contact the subscribers in a bid to try and win them back who decide to switch to some other service providers, in the initial three months.
The number portability central system is being managed by SystorIntereurope Systems that will be central to the process of coordinating the exchange of messages between Licensed Operators, in addition to up keeping the authoritative database of ported numbers and performance metrics concerned.
The Bahrain Internet Exchange (BIX) is poised to host the number portability central system with the aim to aid seamless access by all operators.
According to TRA Chairman Dr. Mohammed Al Amer, they expect the percentage of participants wishing to transfer their numbers to be up to 20% of the total number of mobile subscribers in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Zain Bahrain offers Twitter SMS service
Zain Bahrain has started offering a service enabling customers to send tweets via SMS.
Customers need to sign up for the Twitter-via-SMS service over SMS and on Twitter’s website. Zain Bahrain will charge US$0.79 per SMS sent, while receiving SMS is free.
Zain Bahrain launches No Limits promotional offer
Zain Bahrain launches the “No Limits!” promotion. Now all Zain customers can make free calls and send free SMS’s to all Zain numbers. All calls to all Zain numbers are free from the moment the call is connected. There are no limits to the duration of the calls, and there are no limits to the number of SMS’s sent to any Zain number.
All new and existing Hewar post-paid and eeZee pre-paid customers can subscribe to this offer, by dialling *888# and enjoy free calls and free SMS to all Zain numbers for a duration of 24 hours for 200 fils only.
Once activated, the subscription will be automatically renewed on a daily basis till the customer chooses to unsubscribe. To cater for the diverse needs of mobile customers, Zain is also offering flexible weekly and monthly subscription options.
“We wanted to give our customers an offer which gives them an affordable way to talk for as long as they want, and send as many SMS’s as they desire, to as many friends as they want, without any restrictions on the time of day or the day of week. With “No Limits!” we have done exactly that!,” said Mohammed Marhoon, Zain Bahrain’s Consumer Marketing Specialist.
Once subscribed to this promotion, the subscription fee will be automatically deducted from the eeZee pre-paid customers’ balance. For subscribing Hewar post-paid customers, the promotion subscription charge will appear in their monthly bills. This offer is for a promotional period and valid for Zain numbers in Bahrain.
Vodafone extends World Calling Club promotion (Qatar)
Vodafone Qatar has extended its World Calling Club international call rates to more than 180 countries for just US$17.69 a minute until June 30.
All of the most popular calling destinations are included in this promotion, which included Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Yemen.
Vodafone is also extending until 30 June its International Calling Card 25 offer that gives customers 51 minutes of talk time at a rate of US$0.13 a minute. The countries included in this are India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, Syria, Sudan, Turkey, Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
BlackBerry to launch PlayBook in UAE
Blackberry has contracted EMS to distribute the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet via select retail outlets across the UAE region from 12 June.
According to EMS, after experiencing a successful launch in North America, the company looks to continue this within the UAE region, where smartphone penetration is very high. Operators in Bahrain and Qatar already announced plans to carry the tablet.
Zain Bahrain introduces BlackBerry PlayBook
Zain Bahrain has launched the BlackBerry PlayBook which will now be available at Zain Experience Shops throughout Bahrain.
The company will be selling the tablet on monthly installment purchase plans and with direct discounts. The device comes packed with a 7-inch capacitive display with multi-touch, 1GHz dual-core CPU Cortex A9 and 1 GB RAM. The tablet is fitted with dual cameras: 3 megapixel in the front and 5 megapixel in the rear.
Users can choose 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage versions of the tablet. It is also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and offers Full HD video support, audio playback and multitasking.
