Banking & Finance Etisalat may bid for stake in Ethiopian telco By Pramod Kumar July 7, 2023, 5:36 AM Reuters/Jumana El Heloueh e& will continue to focus on supporting Mobily as its largest shareholder Abu Dhabi-listed Etisalat, now branded as e&, is planning to bid for a 45 percent stake in Ethio, a state-controlled telecom operator in Ethiopia. The UAE’s telecom company is talking to advisers, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources. France’s Orange SA is also weighing the option to bid for a similar stake. Talks are at an early stage, with the Ethiopian government not putting any timetable to complete the sale. In addition, Ethiopia is exploring issuing a third telecom license to compete with existing players – Ethio and Safaricom. Etisalat is also interested in potentially bidding for the new license, sources told Bloomberg. Companies are required to express their interest by September 15. Etisalat last week confirmed that it was in talks with Czech investment firm PPF Group to explore opportunities in central and southeastern Europe. AGBI last month reported that the Abu Dhabi-listed telecom operator made a paper loss estimated at $2.1 billion on its stake in Vodafone due to a slump in the UK’s Vodafone Group’s share price since mid-2022. The company holds a 14.61 percent stake in Vodafone.
Renewable Energy Masdar views Middle East as biggest growth market UAE’s renewable energy company Masdar considers the Middle East its biggest market, even though its target is to grow globally, a senior executive has said. “The Middle East is the biggest market for us, we are a company from here, and this market is growing significantly,” Abdulaziz Alobaidli, chief executive officer of Masdar, told AGBI […] 1 hour ago
Trade Kenya-UAE Cepa may increase food exports and investment The UAE and Kenya have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) that is predicted to lead to a threefold increase in food exports from the East African nation. The trade deal, which was agreed in February last year, is expected to accelerate trade and investment in agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, travel and tourism, financial services and […] 1 hour ago
Economy Inflation, not war, is Gulf states’ top concern, says WEF Economic concerns such as inflation dominate risk perception for the coming year in the Gulf and across Mena, according to the World Economic Forum. Its survey of thousands of experts and business leaders, the Global Risks Report 2025, found that geopolitical conflict was the No 1 risk globally, selected by respondents as the “most likely […] 33 mins ago
Oil & Gas Adia to help fund $1bn Malaysian oil and gas firm Abu Dhabi Investment Company (Adia) is to invest in an oil and gas equipment-making unit in Malaysia. Adia is participating in the $1 billion funding round for Yinson Holdings’ equipment-maker alongside Asian investment firm RRJ Capital and British Columbia Investment Management. The funding, expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, will primarily support […] 19 mins ago
