Kenya Tailing in Celtel Bloc Growth
Celtel Kenya is tailing Uganda and Tanzania in percentage subscriber growth, a company report has shown.
The report that Business Week has seen, reveals that while Kenya still continues to perform exceptionally well, its subscriber base grew by a mere 19% compared to Uganda’s 64% and Tanzania’s 83%.
While subscriber numbers in Tanzania and Uganda grew from 738, 000 to 1.349 million and from 233,000 to 381,000 respectively, Kenya’s grew from 1.461 million to 1.743 million.
Announcing the 2006 third quarter earnings for the nine months ending September 30, Celtel’s parent company, MTC of Kuwait said the company recorded positive subscriber growth in all 15 African countries in which it operates.
In the report, MTC recorded consolidated revenues of US$ 2.92 billion, an increase of 115% over the same period in 2005 and posted a net income of $767.46 million, an increase of 64% compared to the same period last year.
The report released last month in Kuwait shows that while the group boasts of a growing customer base of 24.9 million customers in both Africa and the Middle East, total Celtel subscriber growth alone stood at 15.270 million up from 5.375 million (184%).
Celtel Zambia topped all the other countries after recording a 116% growth in subscriber numbers while Sierra Leone tailed at 48% growth.
Burkina Faso recorded an 86% growth, Chad (70%), Congo Brazzaville (87%), DR Congo (80%), Gabon (66%), Malawi (107%) and Niger (107%).
Statistics for Nigeria and Madagascar subscriber growth were unavailable because the two operations were only acquired in May 2006 and December 2005 respectively.
However, their customer base stands at over 5.993 million and 302,000 respectively.
There are over 2.462 million subscribers in Sudan where the pan African mobile firm operates as Mobitel.
With 12,000 employees in both Africa and the Middle East, MTC has mobile voice and data services operations in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon.
Industry experts tie the good group performance figures to organic growth, new license awards and acquisitions over the past three and a half years since the company embarked on its profitable expansion strategy.
“The company’s remarkable customer growth is primarily driven by its African operations; and its enviable financial performance is driven by its more mature Middle Eastern operations,” a company statement said.
Mr. Asaad Ahmed Al-Banwan, chairman of MTC said, “We are continuously on the look out for new profitable opportunities.
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched a process that will lead to a 3rd license award and we will participate. We are also evaluating a couple of smaller opportunities in Africa.”
Celtel is still basking in its world record borderless network for East Africa launched in September 2006 that allows customers to travel across the three borders without roaming call surcharges and paying to receive incoming calls.
Source- allafrica Wireless Mobile Telecom
Batelco to bid for new licence
Batelco will bid for one of two National Fixed Wireless Service (NFWS) licences currently on offer by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). Batelco Internet Services head Eyad Almaskati said: ‘We believe that the proposed NFWS licence will be complementary to our existing fixed and wireless services in Bahrain’. The NFWS licences will use frequencies in the 3.5GHz range and are due to be issued by the TRA in January.
Source- telegeography Wireless Mobile Telecom
Saudi fall leads Gulf sell-off
DUBAI: Saudi shares tumbled yesterday to their lowest level since March 2005, leading a sell-off across Gulf Arab markets.
The main index of the Saudi market, the largest Arab bourse, fell 3.34% to 9,717.89 points, its lowest since March 12, according to Reuters data.
All other local Gulf markets closed lower.
Saudi Telecom, the largest Arab telecom firm, led decliners among the Saudi market’s top 5 companies after it posted its first quarterly decline in profit since 2004. Its shares tumbled 5.43% to 91.50 riyals ($24.40).
“We expect further weakness and volatility in the Saudi market,” said Ali Taqi, senior manager for capital markets at National Bank of Kuwait. “The decline is not a surprise … The average price-to-earnings ratio is between 20 and 22 compared with 12 in Kuwait.”
Dubai’s market fell to a five-week low, while Kuwait’s market, the second largest Arab bourse, hit a two-week low.
Abu Dhabi’s main index eased 0.62% to 3,399.12 points, a three-month low.
Investors in Dubai dumped Emaar Properties, the largest listed Arab real estate company and Dubai’s most traded share.
Wadah al-Taha, head of strategy at Emaar Financial Services, said the sell-off was a reaction to selling in the Saudi market. “The Saudi market went down very fast (on Monday) … it’s a psychological effect … the current prices in Dubai are very attractive,” he said.
Al-Taha said Dubai stocks, which fell 2.07% on Monday to 417.52 points, were trading on an average price-to-book value of below 3 with an average return on equity of 19%.
Kuwait stocks hit a two-week low as the market posted its steepest single-day decline in three months. Most traded shares fell with banking stocks hit heavily. National Bank of Kuwait, the largest bank, dropped 2.63% to 2.22 dinars ($7.68), its steepest single-day decline in a month.
“It’s a small correction that started in the banking sector. The market is oversold and it’s a domino effect now,” said Jassem al-Zeraei, analyst at National Bank of Kuwait. “The market is up 13% since August and we’ve been expecting a correction.”
Oman’s market dropped from Monday’s record high, losing 0.84% to 5,751 points. Bahrain’s index extended losses, easing 0.18% to 2,230.56 points.
Source- http://www.gulf-times.com
Jordan Telecom to buy stake in Bahrain firm
Jordan Telecom is planning to acquire 50 per cent stake in Bahrain-based fixed-line operator Lightspeed Communications before the end of next year.
It is part of company’s plans to spend $300 million to buy stakes in Middle East telecoms and Internet operators in a bid to diversify away from a highly competitive home market, the company’s chairman said.
“This will be our first international investment,” Shabib Ammari said on the sidelines of a telecoms conference in Dubai.
“We have the know-how and $350 million in free cash to do more of this.”
Jordan Telecom’s mobile phone operator, Mobilecom, is one of four operators serving Jordan’s 5.5m population, leaving little room for growth in the domestic market, Ammari said.
Jordan Telecom’s 2006 full-year net profits will be virtually on a par with its 2005 earnings of 86m Jordan dinars ($121.4m), Ammari said.
“Our base market must continue to be our number one revenue segment,” Ammari said.
“But we want to diversify by buying stakes in operators in the region or through partnerships with local partners in different markets.”
In Bahrain, Jordan Telecom, in which France Telecom is the biggest shareholder, and Lightspeed will roll out fixed-line telecoms services including voice, video and data beginning in spring 2007, Ammari said.
On June 28, France Telecom raised its stake in Jordan Telecom by 10pc to 50pc plus one share.
France Telecom will acquire another 1pc ahead of a rebranding campaign in 2007, in which Mobilecom will take France Telecom’s Orange brand name, Ammari said. Kuwait’s Noor Financial Investment also owns a 10pc stake in Jordan Telecom, which it bought in July for 115m dinars, he added.
The company has signed an agreement with business partners in Egypt to tap into the country’s growing Internet market by investing in Internet service providers, the chairman said.
Source- http://www.gulf-daily-news.com
Telecoms drive Saudi, Kuwait stocks up
DUBAI: Stock markets in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait gained ground yesterday as investors snapped up telecom stocks on the first day of trading following the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Kuwait’s National Mobile Telecommunications Co (Wataniya) powered to its highest close in nine months and Saudi Telecom Co finished at its best in more than three weeks.
The Saudi index edged up 0.33% to 10,579.72 points, while the Kuwait market added 0.08% to 10,572.50 points. Markets in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar will reopen on Sunday.
“Long-term investors are looking at the telecom sector,” said Jamil Matar, regional manager for Emaar Financial Services.
“The telecom sector is underdeveloped in the Gulf outside of the UAE – there is a lot of potential for growth in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,” he said.
Telecom stocks took the spotlight following a report in a Kuwait newspaper that Saudi Telecom had bid for Kuwait Projects Co’s stake in Wataniya.
Wataniya shares jumped 3.33% after the report to 2.48 dinars ($8.58), their highest close since January 24.
Shares of the company, whose third-quarter profits exceeded analyst expectations, are up 26.5% since Sept. 2.
Saudi Telecom, the Arab world’s largest telecom company by market value, denied the report in an interview with Reuters that took place after the Kuwait market closed.
But its stock price still managed to surge as high as 99.25 riyals ($26.47) during the session, finishing 0.51% higher at 98 riyals, their highest close since Oct. 2.
Shares of Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) also jumped 3.03% to 68 riyals on the Saudi bourse, while Mobile Telecommunications Co, the largest telecom company in Kuwait, rose 1.16% to 3.50 dinars, a record close for the stock.
Saudi telecom stocks have taken a beating as Saudi shares fell nearly 6% in the past two months. Shares of Etihad Etisalat have tumbled 16.5% since September 2, while those of Saudi Telecom are down 4.4% over the same period.
“Saudi Telecom companies are very undervalued,” Matar said, who pegged Saudi Telecom’s fair value at between 170 and 210 riyals and Mobily’s at between 130 and 140 riyals.
Kuwait shares, by contrast, have climbed 9.6% since Sept. 2, driven by gains in blue chips.
Expectations of strong third-quarter earnings pushed shares of Kuwaiti investment bank Global Investment House up 3.64% to 1.14 dinars.
“Investors are expecting good results,” said Talal al-Tawari, head of the GCC equity division for Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corp
“In the last month, the market contributed a lot to investment companies that have exposure to the market.”
In Saudi Arabia, new trading session timing could weed out speculative retail investors, who comprise up to 80% of the market, added Hani Baothman, chief executive of Aayan Capital.
The Saudi bourse will now operate only one 4-1/2-hour daily trading session, down from two sessions per day.
“One-session trading will eliminate quite a good number of speculators,” Baothman said. “Eventually we will see relatively lower volumes on the Saudi market and the role of the asset manager will increase as retail investors turn to funds.”
Source- http://www.gulf-times.com
Hello?
It seems like cellphones are everywhere today and can do nearly anything. They are MP3 players, video cameras, even Internet portals. In some of the networks in Asia, they are even used as credit cards and mobile banking devices. Which economy has the highest level of cellular phone subscribers in the world?
A. Hong Kong B. Bahrain C. Canada D. Italy
A. Hong Kong is correct.
Hong Kong has about 1,184 cellular phone subscriptions per 1,000 people, an average of nearly 1.2 phones per person, as of 2004. This makes it one of seven economies in the world that average more than one phone per person, according to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators.
The next highest rate in Asia is Singapore, which ranks 19th worldwide and has a subscription rate of about 910 subscribers per 1,000 people. Hong Kong’s subscription rate is more than 50 percent higher than Japan’s (715.96) and South Korea’s (760.91).
B. Bahrain is not correct.
Bahrain has the highest rate of cell phone subscribers among Muslim countries with a rate of about 907 subscribers per 1,000 people, ranking it 21st worldwide. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait rank 28th and 32 d respectively. All three rank higher than the United States, as does Qatar, which ranks 48th.
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, has only about 138 subscribers per 1,000 people; meanwhile Egypt, the most populous Arab country, has only 101 subscribers per 1,000 people. This is only half the rate of the West Bank, which ranks 92 d worldwide with a rate of about 277 subscribers per 1,000 people.
C. Canada is not correct
Canada ranks 66th in the world with about 469 cellular subscribers per 1,000 people. Similarly, the United States, with almost 617 subscribers per 1,000 people ranks, only 49th in the world.
These subscription rates put the United States and Canada behind most of Europe and the Asian tiger economies. Mexico, ranking 74th worldwide, is just behind Saudi Arabia (73 d) in cellphone penetration rates.
D. Italy is not correct.
Italy actually ranks third worldwide in rate of cell phone subscriptions and has the highest rate among Western European countries.
The United Kingdom ranks seventh, while Germany ranks 25th, and France places 42nd worldwide.
Among the newcomers to the European Union, Estonia and Slovenia rank among the top 20 in the world, and have about 940 subscribers per 1,000 people. The Russian Federation ranks 59th with about 517 subscribers per 1,000 people.
Source- http://www.boston.com
Mobile penetration surpasses fixed line network in Jordan
KUWAIT: The telecommunications market in Jordan has developed in line with other regional peer countries based on fixed and mobile penetration rates. In terms of addressing the “digital divide”, the policy of the government is to encourage the widest possible access to communications services at affordable prices. Steps to achieve this objective include the encouragement of private sector participation and investment in those services that are currently open for competition.
The Jordanian market has a relatively young population, about 45% of which are below the age of 20 and a low GDP/Capita of $3,280 in 2005. The penetration rates in both fixed line and mobile services are still relatively low compared to those observed in the GCC countries. The number of fixed line subscribers was 0.67mn at the end of 2005, representing a penetration rate of 12.2%. In contrast, the mobile market has grown very rapidly and there were 3.13 million subscribers at the end of 2005, implying a penetration rate of over 57%. The data communication market is currently very small, with 2% penetration rate for internet services. Growth for data communication services is however expected to be explosive in the coming years as the demand for internet related services has been vigorous.
Till December 2004, the Kingdom was served by one fixed line operator, the incumbent Jordan Telecom (JT), which is jointly owned by the Jordanian government and a consortium led by France Telecom (FT). In May 2005, Batelco of Jordan was given the second license to provide fixed line telephony services in Jordan. Mobile services are available through three GSM mobile operators. Fastlink was the first operator which first introduced the mobile service in 1995 and benefited from a 5-year exclusivity period from the government. Mobilecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of JT, launched its operations in September 2000 and was granted a 3-year exclusive duopoly with Fastlink. In addition, Jordan’s regulatory body, the Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC), granted Xpress Telecom a license to operate an IDEN (Motorola proprietary based) radio-trunking network, which launched its operations in May 2004.
Mobile penetration in Jordan has surpassed fixed line penetration by a ratio of about 5:1 and currently stands at roughly 57% of Jordan’s total population. The penetration rate was relatively low prior to 2001, hindered by a duopolistic market structure and limited price reductions on the part of the incumbents. Subsequently, during 2001-05 period witnessed explosive growth which was largely because of the launch of the prepaid service and the increase in competition inducing lower prices and a wider array of services and packages pushing the subscriber numbers over 3.13 million by 2005.
In terms of market shares for the Jordanian cellular market, Fastlink, the first company to introduce cellular services in the Kingdom back in 1995 had by the highest market share which stood at 64.4% followed the Jordan Telecom’s subsidiary, MobileCom at 24%, Umniah (recently acquired by Batelco) at 9.6%, and Xpress at 2.1%.
Divestment of government stake and Change in Shareholding Structure in JT
In 2004, the Government of Jordan announced its intention to divest its remaining 41.51% stake in JT. In April 2006, France Telecom increased its stake in the Jordanian subsidiary JITCO to 100% by buying the Arab bank’s stake. In July 2006, the government has sold another 10% of its shares in Jordan Telecom to the Kuwaiti Company Al-Nour Financial Investment Co at a price of US$164.4mn. France Telecom purchased an additional 11% stake to give itself a controlling stake of 50% plus 1 share.
End of monopoly
Following the ending of the monopoly of Jordan Telecom in the fixed sub-sector of the market on 31st December 2004, Batelco of Bahrain was the first operator to get the licence to provide fixed line telephone services in May 2005.
XPress began operations in mid-2004 as Jordan’s third mobile telecommunications network. XPress Jordan is an Integrated Digital Enhancement Network Technology (IDEN)-based operator – the only licensed digital radio trunking service provider in Jordan and Middle East.
Bahrain Telecom Co (Batelco) acquired 96% of Umniah Telecom in June-2006 for a total consideration of $415mn. Umniah Telecom was granted a license to establish and operate a third public digital cellular mobile network in the GSM 1800 standard on August 9, 2004 by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC). On the 3rd week of June 2005, it started commercial operations.
Boom in ADSL service
The penetration rate of ADSL in Jordan is witnessing a massive growth due to the new offers and packages launched by Jordan Telecom and other ISPs recently, in a bid to enable Jordanians benefit from ADSL advantages. Due to the high demand on ADSL and to provide high quality services, Jordan Telecom is doing further expansions and upgrading on its network in response to the increase demand on ADSL lines. Wanadoo is the leading ISP in Jordan with close to 50% market share as at the end of 2005.
Jordan Telecommunications Company Co (JT) is the incumbent operator and the only full service telecommunications provider in Jordan. JT offers fixed line, mobile and data communication services which gives it an unique competitive advantage in providing a convergent platform for a wide array of services. Currently, JITCO, a holding company owned by France Telecom, owns 51% of Jordan Telecom.
The company had 250mn shares outstanding as of the end of June 2006. The shares are listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. Jordan Telecom posted strong results in FY2005 with a 2.8% growth in revenues and 87.1% growth in net profits over the previous year. Fixed-line voice segment and Mobile Communication segment contributed 72% and 32.8% respectively to the top-line in FY2005. At the end of June 2006, the revenues stood at JD171.4mn and the net profit stood at JD42.1mn, a decline of 1.7% and 11.6% respectively. At the end of 1H2006, total mobile subscribers were at 1.023mn, 87% of which were prepaid. We initiate coverage on Jordan Telecom with a “Buy” recommendation. Based on the combination of Discounted Cash Flow Method and Peer Group Valuation Method, we have valued the company’s shares at an intrinsic value of JD4.97 per share, which is 11.5% higher than the current stock price of JD4.46 per share.
Source-http://www.kuwaittimes.net
Cisco technology for Batelco – Bahrain
Batelco has announced plans to collaborate with Cisco to bring international standards in voice, mobile, data and broadband capabilities to the Bahrain’s telecom infrastructure.
The new agreement will form part of a joint effort to bring improved services and new technologies to Batelco’s corporate, small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) and individual consumers.
Peter Kaliaropoulos, Batelco’s Chief Executive, said: “Our collaboration with Cisco is part of Batelco’s commitment to providing world-class service and technological capacity throughout its network.”
Batelco and Cisco will cooperate in the four areas of wireline and mobile infrastructure; managed services development; building broadband and addressing the demands of rapidly growing real-estate sector in the Kingdom.
“Cisco will be working closely with Batelco on several service areas critical for the development of any new world telecom infrastructure,” said Samer Alkharrat, General Manager of Cisco Gulf.
He added: “The concept of managed services, for example, is prevalent in Europe and the US, and is picking up pace in this region. Batelco will be one of the service providers in the region that is planning to embrace ‘Managed Services’.”
Managed Services from Batelco will provide customers with a suite of communication solutions, removing much of the burden associated with the enterprise’s IT operational expense and overhead, thus allowing enterprises to optimise cost and focus on their core business.
Nadim Khoury, Regional Manager for Service Provider in Cisco, summed up the new deal: “With Cisco’s cutting edge solutions, we are planning to look at various options to how Batelco can maximise the potential of its mobile service delivery through the creation of value added services for mobile customers.
Combining this with managed and broadband services being created will position Batelco as one of the permanent service providers in the region.”
Source- http://www.menafn.com
MTC expects to double profit to record KD375m
KUWAIT: Mobile Telecommunications Company, the third-largest Gulf Arab telecom company by market value, expects to double profit this year to a record KD 375 million . “We will achieve record profits that will surpass the profits for 2002 five-fold,” Saad Al-Barrak, the Kuwaiti company’s chief executive, said at a company event late on Sunday. MTC earned KD 75.04 million in 2002 and KD 185.9 million last year, according to Reuters data. Arab telecoms companies, buoyed by record earnings and oil revenues generated by their government shareholders, have been on a spending spree in the last 18 months, buying companies from Pakistan and Italy to Africa.
MTC, which is 24.42 per cent owned by the government of Kuwait, last year bought Netherlands-based Celtel with operations in Africa for $3.36 billion.
Al-Barrak said 2006 revenue at MTC, which has 25 million subscribers in 20 nations in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, will be about $4.5 billion. That compares with KD 579.5 million ($2 billion) last year.
“MTC is now the fourth largest (telecom) company based on geographical coverage,” Al-Barrak said at the event.
The company plans to more than double subscriber numbers to 50 million within five years, possibly expanding operations into Asia and eastern Europe, Al-Barrak told the Kuwait News Agency last month. The agency did not give details.
MTC, whose remaining shares are traded on the Kuwaiti stock exchange, may post an average 87.3 percent increase in third-quarter net profit, three analysts said in a Reuters earnings survey last month. See [nL30893867] for more details on the forecast.
Net income may rise to an average KD 87.08 million in the three months to Sept 30, compared with KD46.69 million in the year earlier period, according to the forecast.
MTC operates in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, and about 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. – Reuters
Source- http://www.kuwaittimes.net
Arab mobile provider, Nokia launches Sudan operations
Oct 5, 2006 (DUBAI) — i2, the largest and most diverse mobile provider in Africa and the Middle East announced today in a press briefing the launch of its operations in Sudan.
i2 introduces its retail concept and after sales services for the first time in the country.
i2 is the first authorized Nokia distributor and service center in the country as well as being the first to offer mobile subscribers original Nokia devices with matching accessories and a one-year warranty. In Sudan, i2 will be available through its showroom, distribution network and service center.
i2′s operation in Sudan will be managed by Mohamed Osman El Tayyeb, Chairman, and Hussein Raouf Atwi, General Manager.
i2 plans to expand its operation throughout Sudan within the year to include Bahri, Omdurman and Kalaka. i2 has opened a branch in the state of Adbara and plans to expand to Madani and Port Sudan.
Nokia has long recognized Africa as an important market for the company’s business. Since early 1990, Nokia has provided mobile phones, enhancement, telecoms networks and related infrastructure and services to operators and customers throughout Africa.
‘Nokia’s approach is to develop and support all local distributors and service partners in all countries. Nokia has been working closely with our regional distributor, i2 across most countries in the Middle East and Africa for many years now.
i2 will be able to offer Nokia’s customers authentic Nokia handsets and official Nokia Customer Care Services to ensure that customers in Sudan receive the best possible Nokia experience.” Said Jarmo Santala, General Manager for Nokia Customer and Market Operations North West Africa.
The cost effectiveness of GSM-based services in comparison to fixed-lines has encouraged the fast growth of mobile services in Africa. Nevertheless, mobile penetration levels in Africa remain low.
‘i2 has a big role to play in the development of the mobile market in Africa. We want to make sure that it’s growing market follows international standards of product quality and service’ stated Abdul Hameed Al Sunaid, President and CEO, i2.
Founded in 1993 in Saudi Arabia as Itsalat International, i2 is the region’s largest and most diverse mobile phone provider in the region. i2 operates in: Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, Reunion, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and UK.
Source- http://www.sudantribune.com
