Etisalat still eyes Iraqi market (UAE)
Etisalat is still looking for an alternative after its US$12 bn bid to buy control of Zain was abandoned. Irregular speculation that it would bid for a stake in Korek Telecom was stopped earlier this month when France Telecom finally brought a minority stake in the company.
The only existing route into the country would be either a trade sale by one of the other two networks, controlled by Zain and Qtel – or bidding for the country’s fourth mobile license which should be sold later this year for around US$2 billion.
According to Ahmed Bin Ali, group Senior Vice President of corporate communications, they are looking at all opportunities. If they think it is worth it, they are on the same speed of expansion whenever there is a chance to do so.
Etisalat, which is majority-owned by the government, is pushing to expand its overseas operations to offset declining revenues in the UAE, where it no longer holds a monopoly.
France Telecom, Agility to buy 44% of Iraq’s Korek (France, Kuwait, Iraq)
France Telecom and Kuwaiti logistics group Agility have jointly announced that they are acquiring a 44% stake in Iraqi mobile operator Korek Telecom.
As per the companies, the two groups will form a joint venture, 54%-owned by Agility, to control the stake.
According to the statement, France Telecom will pay $245 million for its 20% indirect stake in Korek, and will also extend a $185 million 4-year loan to the Iraqi operator. Meanwhile, Agility will contribute existing convertible debt and inject an additional $50 million for its 24% indirect stake.
According to France Telecom Chief Executive Stephane Richard, the acquisition of this stake in Korek Telecom is a new step in their policy of expansion outside Europe, and contributes to their stated aim of doubling our revenues in Africa and the Middle East by 2015.
Iraq expects to raise $2 bn from 4th mobile license sale
The Iraqi government is hoping to raise around US$2 billion from auctioning off the country’s fourth mobile operator license by the end of the year.
According to the Communications Minister, Mohammed Allawi, the government will allocate at least a quarter of the license fee towards improving the country’s telecom’s infrastructure.
Mohammed Allawi also stated that he wants to improve landline services, and use that to boost internet penetration to 25% within five years. 40% of the shares will go to the operator, 35% of the shares to the public, and 25% of the shares to the ministry.
The government has been increasingly frustrated by what it says is poor service from the existing three networks – although they cite the difficult security situation and repeated attacks on their networks as a primary cause.
The minister stated that while network jamming by security forces was partly to blame for patchy mobile coverage, the operators’ infrastructure had been unable to cope with growing demand.
Both France Telecom and Etisalat are claimed to be in talks to take a stake in the smallest Iraqi operator, Korek Telecom, although the availability of an independent license may prove more alluring to the bidders.
The country has three operators, Zain, Asiacell and Korek Telecom.
Korek, France Telecom to close deal soon
Asiacell to extend mobile network in 2011 (Iraq)
Iraqi mobile operator Asiacell Communications, a group including Asiacell Iraq (30%), Qatar Telecom (Qtel, 30%) and investment group Merchant Bridge (40%), has signed a network expansion agreements with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Ericsson, as it is planning to expand its service footprint in the country.
According to the cellco’s Chief Technical and IT officer, Patson Anius, the supply contracts will allow the operator to introduce advanced services tailored to the domestic market. Next year, they will be further expanding their network coverage to include small villages and residential communities in remote areas. They look forward to breaking their own GSM deployment record in Iraq next year.
Asiacell is one of the three cellcos licensed to provide national mobile services, having been awarded its concession in August 2007 at a cost of US$1.25 billion.
In 2009 it deployed 1,490 base transceiver stations (BTSs) on its network, thanks to the build-out of 950 new communication towers, and improved the service capabilities of 450 other cell sites. At the end of September 2010 Asiacell had 7.917 million mobile subscribers, placing it second in the market with a share of 34.8%. It competes with Zain Iraq, Korek Telecom and SanaTel.
Korek Telecom confirm talks with two potential investors
Iraq’s Korek Telecom has confirmed that it is in discussions with two companies concerning a deal to sell a stake in the company.
It was recently reported that the company was in talks with France Telecom, after year-long discussions with Etisalat had seemingly broken down.
According to Korek’s CEO, Humam Amara, a deal could be signed within days.He is still in discussions. They haven’t signed anything with Orange, referring to France Telecom’s key brand. They are in discussions with another foreign, publicly listed company, but this a non-disclosure agreement with them.
He added that the market in Iraq leaves huge room for growth and a deal positions them to grab fair share of the market. They’re basically looking for a partner that they can create synergies with, both financially and managerially. Korek was valued at about US$3 billion, is looking to sell a stake of between 35% and 49%.
Korek Telecom in final talks over stake sale
Kurdish mobile operator Korek Telecom is reportedly in discussions with two companies to sell a minority stake and is expecting to strike a deal by the end of the week.
As per the previous reports, France Telecom had entered into talks to buy a stake in the operator, as part of a strategy to expand its presence in the Middle East.
According to Korek’s Chief Executive Humam Amara, a deal between the two companies has not yet been brokered, it is still in discussion. The company has not signed anything with Orange. He also stated that Korek was in talks with ‘another foreign, publicly listed company’, but could not reveal the name of the firm, due to the signing of a non-disclosure agreement.
According to Amara, discussions with the two operators are in the final stages, adding that Korek will look to make a decision within the next few days. Korek initially focused on the provision of mobile services in Kurdistan, but in August 2007 it was awarded a national license and has developed into Iraq’s third-largest cellco by customers, with an estimated 2.55 million subscribers at 30 September 2010. Korek is looking to sell a 35%-49% stake in the operator, which is valued at about US$3 billion.
France Telecom in talks to buy Korek Telecom stake
France Telecom is in discussion to acquire a minority stake in Iraq’s third-largest mobile phone operator, to expand in the Middle East.
According to sources, it was considering purchasing a stake in Korek Telecom, in a deal that give the Iraqi mobile operator an enterprise value of US$$1.5 billion. Although no deal has been finalized, France Telecom is interested in eventually securing a controlling stake in Korek.
The French telecoms group is looking for growth in emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
It is competing with two much larger groups: Zain, Iraq’s largest mobile operator, which has 11.8 million customers, and Asia Cell, the second largest, which has 7.9 million.
According to Stephane Richard, France Telecom’s Chief Executive has set a target of doubling the group’s revenue from Africa and the Middle East within five years.
Iraq plans to award mobile network license
According to Iraq’s Minister of Communications, Farouq Abdul-Qadir Abdulrahman, Iraq is planning to award the previously announced fourth mobile network license in the first quarter of next year. The new operator will be expected to provide competitive rates to existing operators, as the war-torn country focuses on improving telecom services.
Fifteen companies, including USA-based Verizon Communications, South Africa’s MTN, Turkcell, UAE’s Etisalat, France Telecom, and Vodafone had expressed an interest so far.
It emerges that the license has already officially been awarded to the state-owned Iraqi Telecommunications and Posts Co (ITPC), and the government is now looking for outside investors to build the network.
The country has three operators, Zain, Asiacell and Korek Telecom.
Etisalat reports 8.5% decline in first quarter profits (UAE)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The first-quarter net profit of Emirates Telecommunications Corp., or Etisalat, the second-largest Arab telecom operator, fell 8.5% year-on-year to 1.99 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($543 million). Etisalat lost 31,000 mobile subscribers but gained 50,000 internet users from the previous quarter.
No figure has been provided by Etisalat for the first quarter of last year and it also did not reveal any reasons for the decline.
The company also announced that mobile subscribers in the first three months of 2010 stood at 7.71 million and fixed-line subscribers reached 1.3 million, while internet customers hit 1.38 million.
Incidentally, Etisalat’s chairman Mohammad Omran opined in February this year that the firm has enough funds to finance several acquisitions it is currently considering, including a stake in Iraq’s Korek Telecom and a move into Algeria as it continues its expansion into new markets.
