Exclusive Development Sudan telco network still up despite escalating conflict Despite electricity outages and fuel shortages in heavily contested parts of Sudan, the telecom network of the country’s top mobile operator remains functional in most areas, a spokesman for the company’s parent firm told AGBI. Zain Sudan, which is wholly owned by Kuwait’s Zain group, had 16.4 million subscribers and a 48 percent market share […] May 5, 2023
Opinion Agriculture Lengthy war in Sudan could jeopardise Gulf food security Sudan’s now-protracted conflict could have ongoing and unforeseen consequences, not only for the war-ravaged African state, but for its trade connections, including the GCC As Sudan’s warring militaries – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – battle for supremacy, catastrophic damage is being wrought on the nation’s already rundown infrastructure and utility […] May 4, 2023
Banking & Finance Tecom Group’s Q1 2023 profit jumps 34% to $69m Dubai business park operator Tecom Group reported a 34 percent year-on-year rise in net income to AED255 million ($69.44 million) in the first quarter of 2023, driven by strong revenue growth, improved operational efficiencies and sustained growth across all business segments. The group’s revenue increased 6 percent year on year to AED514 million, while EBITDA […] May 4, 2023
Tech Mubadala secures $500m stake in US broadband firm Brightspeed, a US-based broadband and telecommunications services company, has received a $500 million investment from Mubadala Investment Company, the sovereign investor of Abu Dhabi. Mubadala will become a minority shareholder, joining investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, a statement said. Brightspeed, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, says it has the capability to […] May 2, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Telecom unit to buy European towers for $1.34bn Tawal, a Saudi Telecom Company (STC) subsidiary, has agreed to buy tower infrastructure worth 1.22 billion Euros ($1.34 billion) from United Group’s telecommunications tower assets. The agreement supports STC’s strategy to expand its international footprint in key markets with significant growth potential, the Saudi-listed telecom firm said in a statement. STC is majority owned by […] April 21, 2023
Tech Malaysia to launch new 5G network next year Malaysia plans to introduce a second 5G network from next year, four sources told Reuters. It is the latest policy shake-up aimed at dismantling monopolies and promoting competition from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s six-month-old administration. Malaysia’s 5G roll-out by state agency Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) has experienced repeated delays since its launch in December 2021 because of industry concerns over […] April 17, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE telco announces cash dividend details UAE telco e& will pay a cash dividend for the second half of 2022 at AED0.4 per share, taking the annual dividend per share to AED0.8 for the last year. Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, chairman of e&, said the company’s core businesses have sustained solid performance while new business verticals and merger and […] April 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Gulf IPO market could ride out global jitters with state offerings A wave of initial public offerings in Abu Dhabi shows little sign of abating, despite global market jitters and rising interest rates as investors bet on the emirate’s part-privatisation drive. While Saudi Arabia and Dubai’s bourses have also offered a flurry of new listings over the past 18 months, it’s the UAE capital that is […] April 11, 2023
e& takes $400m majority stake in Careem The former Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, e&, has acquired a $400 million majority stake in Careem. The super-app, which is owned by Uber, offers multiple services such as ordering taxis, grocery shopping and mobile payments. e& has taken a 50.03 percent share of the company, which has operations in over 80 cities, covering nine countries […] April 10, 2023
Exclusive Tech Osman Sultan on Mena’s move from ‘telco’ to ‘techco’ Osman Sultan proclaimed in 1997 he would put “a mobile in the hand of everyone” in Egypt. At the time, even some shareholders at Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (MobiNil), where he was CEO, were unsettled by his audacious statement. Egypt’s telecoms regulator granted him a licence to become the country’s first mobile operator, but […] April 7, 2023
Tech China’s $500m subsea optic cable to link Middle East Chinese state-owned telecom firms are developing a $500 million undersea fibre-optic internet cable network that would link Asia, the Middle East and Europe to rival a similar US-backed project, four people involved in the deal told Reuters. The plan is a sign that an intensifying tech war between Beijing and Washington risks tearing the fabric […] April 7, 2023
Analysis Economy The rise and fall of millionaires in Morocco and Egypt The number of millionaires living in Morocco has increased by 28 percent over the last 10 years, but fallen by 25 percent in Egypt. While Morocco was awarded a $5 billion credit line from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week to shield it from the impact of the pandemic, droughts and the Ukraine war, […] April 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Buoyant 2022 for Emirates REIT manager Equitativa Net profit at real estate fund manager Equitativa grew by 30 percent year on year to $82 million (AED301 million) in 2022 and occupancy levels across its portfolio rose 13 percentage points to 85 percent, as it benefited from the “extremely strong” Dubai commercial property market. Equitativa is the manager of Nasdaq Dubai-listed Emirates REIT, […] April 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Kuwait’s Agility awarded $1.65bn in dispute with Iraqi telecom firm Kuwaiti logistic firm Agility said one of its subsidiaries and an affiliate have been awarded $1.65 billion in damages in an arbitration case against Iraq’s Korek Telecom and prominent Iraqi Kurdish businessman Sirwan Barzani. Agility said that the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce had awarded subsidiary Agility Public Warehousing Company […] March 22, 2023
Markets Egypt suspends sale of state-owned Telecom Egypt stake Egypt has decided to suspend the sale of a stake in state-controlled Telecom Egypt because of market conditions, three sources close to the matter said. Telecom Egypt said on March 7 that the government had started to consider a sale of an additional stake in the company. Sources had previously told Reuters the government was […] March 22, 2023
PIF-backed Oman infrastructure fund raises $1 billion Omani infrastructure investor Rakiza, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, has closed its first fund, raising more than $1 billion from participants. Rakiza has already spent a quarter of this money in buying three Omani assets – a 30 percent stake in a telecom tower portfolio, 31 percent of a Port Sohar container terminal […] March 21, 2023
Markets Egypt to initiate steps for listing two army companies Egypt will begin procedures on Wednesday to list army companies – National Service Projects Organisation (NSPO) and National Company for Natural Water in Siwa (SAFI) – on the country’s stock exchange, the cabinet said in a statement. “The offering process aims to maximise the value of the two companies and attract investors from the local […] March 13, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt offers to sell 10% stake in Telecom Egypt Egypt is offering to sell a 10 percent stake in state-controlled Telecom Egypt, sources with knowledge of the offer said on Monday. The sale of state assets would be one of the first to buyers other than Gulf sovereign funds since President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in April ordered the government to draw up a programme […] March 7, 2023
Energy Xlinks looks to Europe as UK-Morocco deal stalls Xlinks is in talks with another European country to develop a second renewables project, as it awaits final sign off from the British government on its planned first venture to supply seven million British homes with Moroccan solar and wind power. “There will be an announcement very shortly, but we’ve already set up another company […] March 3, 2023
Markets UAE’s telco e& raises stake in UK’s Vodafone to 14% UAE-based telecom firm e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, has increased its stake in UK’s Vodafone Group to 14 percent. The Abu Dhabi bourse-listed company purchased a 9.8 percent stake in May 2022 and last month it upped its stake in Vodafone to 13 percent. The telco maintains that the move is aimed at obtaining […] March 1, 2023
Manufacturing It’s a date as UAE food firms target $35bn Indian market A food producer in Dubai has announced a joint venture to take its brand to India as experts say the market offers “growth potential” to many food exporters in the UAE. Al Barakah Dates said it will process and export over 30,000 tonnes of bulk raw material from its factory in Dubai Industrial City to […] February 28, 2023
Banking & Finance Tecom’s profit up 28% in 2022 as revenue hits 22-year high Tecom Group reported a record 28 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit to AED725.62 million ($197.56 million) for 2022, as revenue rose 12 percent YoY to AED1.97 billion, the highest in 22 years. The results showed strong demand for the group’s commercial and industrial properties, supported by Dubai’s strong macroeconomic environment and buoyant business […] February 12, 2023
