Qtel offers special day-long promotion for international calls (Qatar)
Qtel is offering a special one-day promotion for international calls to a number of popular destinations on April1, reducing prices to US$0.13 per minute.
The new offer will be available to all Hala and Control customers. The special rate is valid for calls to destinations including Australia, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UK and the US.
Vodafone NZ to offer 125 jobs to Auckland contact centre
Vodafone New Zealand will reportedly create another 125 jobs in Auckland after deciding to consolidate contact centre operations in New Zealand.
The company had closed its Egyptian facility for a period during the political uprising there, and the facility will no longer handle calls from New Zealand customers from May.
The 125 staff will join Vodafone’s 500-strong contact centre team in Auckland.
Doha Bank rolls out mobile banking service (Qatar)
Doha Bank has rolled out a mobile banking service. The tool will initially be available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android mobile devices.
The service allows customers to access their bank accounts details, make instant transfer of funds between own accounts or to any registered third party beneficiaries and pay registered utility and credit card bills.
As a service launch promotion, Doha Bank will offer 4 iPhone 4 16GB handsets to customers who subscribe to its m-banking service during the initial months of the launching phase in a bi-weekly draw. Doha Bank will offer immediate remittances via mobile banking to 13 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Yemen.
The bank’s mobile banking application for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android is now available online for free download. Once the application has been installed onto the device, Doha Bank customers can log in to their banking accounts and carry out transactions directly from their mobile phones.
iPhone users can download the free Doha iPhone application from the Doha page at Apple store. The BlackBerry and Android application is available for free download at the Doha Bank corporate website.
Etisalat drops $122 mn bid for Syrian mobile license (UAE)
Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) has stated that Etisalat has dropped its plans to bid for Syria’s third mobile licence, in the latest blow to the firm’s drive to expand its Middle East footprint.
According to MEED, the UAE Company is not happy with the 25% revenue share demanded by Syria. Etisalat was not immediately available for comment. The bid would have been worth a minimum of $122 million.
The Syrian government has stated that five bidders – Etisalat, France Telecom, Qatar Telecom, Turkcell and Saudi Telecom — have qualified for the license auction. Bids are due April 12.
Syria has been crippled by growing political unrest recently in which more than 60 people have been killed so far.
This deal would have given Etisalat a presence in Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan.
The former monopoly already operates in 18 countries, including Saudi Arabia, India and Egypt.
Orascom Telecom plans to raise $2.4 bn (Egypt)
Orascom Telecom (OT) has announced that it is planning to raise its capital to $2.35 billion from US$1.26 billion pounds and that it planned to divide the company into two.
Orascom will call a general meeting on April 13 to approve the company split as well as the capital increase, which it said it would use to fund its debt, but did not give any further details.
Shareholders of Russian mobile operator, VimpelCom earlier this month approved a $6 billion-plus purchase of Wind Telecom, which owns OT, creating one of the world’s biggest mobile operators by number of subscribers.
According to OT, the VimpelCom deal would improve its negotiating position with the Algerian government over the fate of its unit in the country.
The firm has been locked in a long-running dispute with Algeria over the unit, Djezzy, its biggest single source of revenue. Uncertainty over its future had complicated the VimpelCom deal.
Algeria’s government, which said it will nationalize Djezzy, has hit the unit with hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes and barred it from moving profits abroad.
It also blocked Orascom from selling the unit to South Africa’s MTN.
3G Subscribers in Egypt to Grow Five Fold Till 2012
Egyptian 3G market, which is mainly operated by three operators, possesses huge potential for future growth. Currently, the penetration level is very less with number of 3G subscribers estimated at less than 1 Million at the end of 2009. According to our research report Booming Egypt Telecom Marketâ€, countries 3G market is expanding at a significant rate since 2007 and is projected to grow five fold by the end of 2012. Moreover, operators are making huge investment to upgrade existing technology with an aim to increase their ARPUs.
Our report finds that the main reasons for huge investments in the 3G infrastructure by the three mobile operators in the country, is the saturation in existing 2G networks and declining ARPU in the 2G segment. Operators are trying to convince their customers to move into the new 3G services as a way of freeing up 2G capacity and halting the steady erosion of the ARPUs. Besides, aggressive marketing strategy is being adopted by all the three operators to lure subscribers in Egypt.
According to our research report, various equipment manufacturers are playing an important role in developing Egypt’s 3G network. Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei have been developing Mobinil’s 3G networks while Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola are cooperating with Mobinil to establish its 2G network. Furthermore, Cisco Systems and Ericsson have had their part in the development and enhancement of the company’s network infrastructure.
Apart from 3G, we have found that Egypt’s mobile market has been growing at a fast pace and is projected to experience smart growth in the coming years. Growth in mobile telephony has been due to an increase in the low-income customer segment over the years. Additionally, stiff price competition between the mobile operators in the country and availability of pre-paid and installment payment options will fuel the segment.
Booming Egypt Telecom Market†provides analysis of Egypt’s telecommunication industry with detail analysis of future potential in different industry segments. The report includes mobile market, fixed line, internet, broadband, 3G, and WiMax market analysis and examines telecom infrastructure in Egypt. The report aims to provide the most accurate outlook of the telecom industry in Egypt.
Egyptian 3G subscribers to grow fivefold by 2012
A new research report has revealed that the Egyptian 3G market is expected to grow five fold by 2012, as compared to 2007.
According to reports, the 3G market, mainly operated by three operators, possesses huge potential for future growth. The 3G penetration level was less than 1 million at the end of 2009 but operators are investing heavily to upgrade existing technology and increase ARPUs.
Operators are trying to convince their customers to move into the new 3G services as a way of freeing up 2G capacity and halting the steady erosion of the ARPUs. Various equipment manufacturers are playing an important role in developing Egypt’s 3G network. Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei have been developing Mobinil’s 3G networks while Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola are cooperating with Mobinil to establish its 2G network. Furthermore, Cisco Systems and Ericsson have had their part in the development and enhancement of the company’s network infrastructure. Apart from 3G, the report found that Egypt’s mobile market will also grow strongly in the coming years, boosted by an increase in the low-income customer segment, competition between operators and the availability of pre-paid and installment payment options.
Etisalat drops $12 billion Zain bid (UAE)
Middle East’s biggest phone company, Emirates Telecommunications Corp. has ended its talks to acquire a majority stake in Zain, Kuwait’s largest, citing political unrest and disagreement among shareholders.
According to the company, the current political unrest in the region and non- unanimous agreement among Zain shareholders mean the offer is no longer viable.
Etisalat first announced its bid to acquire 46% of Zain in September. The collapse of the deal comes after two months of unrest across the Middle East and North Africa that has toppled Egyptian and Tunisian presidents, created civil war in Libya and prompted deadly clashes in Yemen and Bahrain, countries bordering Saudi Arabia.
Etisalat’s offer was contingent on the sale of Zain’s 25% stake in Zain Saudi Arabia. Offers from Bahrain Telecommunications Co., known as Batelco, and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Co. were rejected by Zain last month.
The company already operates in 18 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It has over 100 million customers.
VimpelCom shareholders approve combination with Wind Telecom S.P.A.
VimpelCom Ltd. (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP) announced today that the Company’s shareholders approved all of the items on the agenda at today’s Special General Meeting, paving the way to complete the combination of VimpelCom and Wind Telecom S.p.A. (“Wind Telecom”) (the “Transaction”).
Alexander Izosimov, CEO and President of VimpelCom, commented: “The approval of this transformative combination with Wind Telecom by our shareholders will lead to the creation a new global telecom player with over 173 million mobile subscribers covering a population of 838 million people. The combined group will have a significantly diversified revenue base, substantially larger scale of operations, and potential synergies estimated to be US$2.5 billion on a net present value basis. This transaction and the shareholder vote underscore the Company’s dedication to delivering substantial value creation for shareholders and our commitment to corporate governance excellence.”
Shareholders representing 93.1% of the Company’s voting shares participated in the Special General Meeting. The resolutions at the Special General Meeting were approved by 53.3% of the voting shares that participated in the meeting. Of the Company’s public shareholders, present at the Special General Meeting 39.8% voted in favor of the resolutions and 60.2% voted against the resolutions.
The completion of the Transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent, such as receipt of regulatory approvals and receipt of funds to finance the Transaction. Completion of the Transaction is expected to occur in the first half of 2011.
About VimpelCom
VimpelCom Ltd. consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies. The VimpelCom Ltd. group is headquartered in Amsterdam and has operations in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan,Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, covering territory with a total population of about 351,5 million. VimpelCom Ltd. operating companies provide services under the “Beeline” and “Kyivstar” brands. VimpelCom Ltd.’s ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “VIP”.
About WIND TELECOM S.p.A.
WIND TELECOM S.p.A. is a leading international telecommunications company offering mobile, fixed, Internet and international communication services. WIND TELECOM S.p.A. owns 100% of Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. and 51.7% of Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, which in turn operates GSM networks in Algeria,Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, North Korea, and in Canada through its indirect equity ownership in Globalive Wireless. WIND TELECOM S.p.A., through its subsidiaries, is currently serving 117 million subscribers worldwide and is the entry point of choice for both technically advanced attractive markets and high-growth under-penetrated emerging markets.
