Company Insights Ooredoo Telecoms Ooredoo News Infrastructure Gulf telcos sign deal to create $2bn tower company Telecom operators Ooredoo and Zain Group on Tuesday said agreements have been signed to create the largest tower company in the Middle East and North Africa. The cash and share deal, which also involves Dubai-based Tasc Towers Holding, will establish a company comprising 30,000 telecom towers in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria and Tunisia, with […] December 5, 2023 Tech Kuwait’s private sector to aid final broadband push Kuwait is looking to the private sector to help roll out the final stage of a national fibre-optic broadband project that forms part of the country’s digital transformation ambitions. The Ministry of Communications has announced plans to use private public partnerships (PPP) in coordination with the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects. The PPP will take […] November 1, 2023 Tech Kuwait’s Zain ups stake in UAE’s telco tower company Kuwaiti telco Zain Group has increased its share in the UAE-based TASC Towers from 83.47 percent to 92.87 percent. The company will continue to operate independently with a board of non-Zain majority members, Zain Group vice-chairman and CEO Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi said in a statement to Boursa Kuwait. “Given the nature of Zain’s shareholding and […] September 18, 2023 Development Qatar’s Ooredoo profit rises 26% to $228m in Q2 Qatari telecom company Ooredoo reported a net profit of QAR831 million ($228 million) in the second quarter of 2023. This is an increase of 26 percent compared to a year earlier. Revenue for the second quarter rose four percent year on year to QAR5.77 billion, the telecom company said in a statement. The net profit […] July 31, 2023 Manufacturing Talks begin to set up Mena’s largest telco tower venture Qatar’s Ooredoo, Kuwait’s Zain Group and UAE’s TASC Towers Holding have started talks to create one of the largest telecommunications tower companies in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). The discussions seek to combine their 30,000 telecommunication tower assets in Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq and Jordan into a jointly owned independent tower firm […] July 25, 2023 QIA to hire ex-Credit Suisse to support investment team Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf nation’s $450 billion sovereign fund, is likely to hire Hussam Qasim from Credit Suisse Group AG to boost its domestic investment team. Qasim will join in the coming months, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources. He was previously a director for investment banking and capital markets for Credit Suisse in […] June 20, 2023 Banking and Finance QIA sovereign fund eager to invest in Asia and US Qatar Investment Authority, the world’s 10th-largest sovereign wealth fund by assets, will expand its portfolio in the United States and Asia – particularly China and India – and aims to take advantage of more “investor-friendly” deal terms. Several senior QIA executives outlined the fund’s plans to Bloomberg this week in what were rare public comments […] June 14, 2023 Analysis Infrastructure Ooredoo to cut losses in Myanmar to tune of $2.3bn Should Ooredoo succeed in selling its Myanmar subsidiary, the Qatari telecom operator will exit nursing multi-billion-dollar losses in what has proved to be a disastrous strategic failure for the former monopoly. Ooredoo Myanmar’s customer base has shrunk by nearly half in just over two years, while its cumulative pre-tax losses from 2013-2022 total QAR8.6 billion […] June 8, 2023 Analysis Trade Gulf telcos nurse FX losses as foreign expansion sours Gulf telecom operators have suffered multi-billion-dollar currency losses arising from their foreign subsidiaries. They would have to recognise these in their income statements should they ever sell or lose overall control of the units in question. As mobile penetration in their home markets topped 100 percent – meaning there were more mobile subscriptions than residents […] June 6, 2023 Analysis Banking and Finance Qatar’s QIA challenges UBS Credit Suisse takeover The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is said to be considering taking legal action against the Swiss financial authorities following the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by domestic rival UBS. The Qatari fund increased its stake in Credit Suisse in late 2022 as part of the ailing lender’s ultimately failed attempts to bolster its finances following […] May 18, 2023 Posts navigation Previous 1 … 3 4 5 6 Next
Infrastructure Gulf telcos sign deal to create $2bn tower company Telecom operators Ooredoo and Zain Group on Tuesday said agreements have been signed to create the largest tower company in the Middle East and North Africa. The cash and share deal, which also involves Dubai-based Tasc Towers Holding, will establish a company comprising 30,000 telecom towers in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria and Tunisia, with […] December 5, 2023
Tech Kuwait’s private sector to aid final broadband push Kuwait is looking to the private sector to help roll out the final stage of a national fibre-optic broadband project that forms part of the country’s digital transformation ambitions. The Ministry of Communications has announced plans to use private public partnerships (PPP) in coordination with the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects. The PPP will take […] November 1, 2023
Tech Kuwait’s Zain ups stake in UAE’s telco tower company Kuwaiti telco Zain Group has increased its share in the UAE-based TASC Towers from 83.47 percent to 92.87 percent. The company will continue to operate independently with a board of non-Zain majority members, Zain Group vice-chairman and CEO Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi said in a statement to Boursa Kuwait. “Given the nature of Zain’s shareholding and […] September 18, 2023
Development Qatar’s Ooredoo profit rises 26% to $228m in Q2 Qatari telecom company Ooredoo reported a net profit of QAR831 million ($228 million) in the second quarter of 2023. This is an increase of 26 percent compared to a year earlier. Revenue for the second quarter rose four percent year on year to QAR5.77 billion, the telecom company said in a statement. The net profit […] July 31, 2023
Manufacturing Talks begin to set up Mena’s largest telco tower venture Qatar’s Ooredoo, Kuwait’s Zain Group and UAE’s TASC Towers Holding have started talks to create one of the largest telecommunications tower companies in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). The discussions seek to combine their 30,000 telecommunication tower assets in Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq and Jordan into a jointly owned independent tower firm […] July 25, 2023
QIA to hire ex-Credit Suisse to support investment team Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf nation’s $450 billion sovereign fund, is likely to hire Hussam Qasim from Credit Suisse Group AG to boost its domestic investment team. Qasim will join in the coming months, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources. He was previously a director for investment banking and capital markets for Credit Suisse in […] June 20, 2023
Banking and Finance QIA sovereign fund eager to invest in Asia and US Qatar Investment Authority, the world’s 10th-largest sovereign wealth fund by assets, will expand its portfolio in the United States and Asia – particularly China and India – and aims to take advantage of more “investor-friendly” deal terms. Several senior QIA executives outlined the fund’s plans to Bloomberg this week in what were rare public comments […] June 14, 2023
Analysis Infrastructure Ooredoo to cut losses in Myanmar to tune of $2.3bn Should Ooredoo succeed in selling its Myanmar subsidiary, the Qatari telecom operator will exit nursing multi-billion-dollar losses in what has proved to be a disastrous strategic failure for the former monopoly. Ooredoo Myanmar’s customer base has shrunk by nearly half in just over two years, while its cumulative pre-tax losses from 2013-2022 total QAR8.6 billion […] June 8, 2023
Analysis Trade Gulf telcos nurse FX losses as foreign expansion sours Gulf telecom operators have suffered multi-billion-dollar currency losses arising from their foreign subsidiaries. They would have to recognise these in their income statements should they ever sell or lose overall control of the units in question. As mobile penetration in their home markets topped 100 percent – meaning there were more mobile subscriptions than residents […] June 6, 2023
Analysis Banking and Finance Qatar’s QIA challenges UBS Credit Suisse takeover The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is said to be considering taking legal action against the Swiss financial authorities following the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by domestic rival UBS. The Qatari fund increased its stake in Credit Suisse in late 2022 as part of the ailing lender’s ultimately failed attempts to bolster its finances following […] May 18, 2023
