Du Looks To Buoyant UAE Economy For Future Growth

The telecom operator currently claims 46.4 per cent of mobile subscribers in the UAE.

UAE Telco Du Q4 Profit Falls 43%

Du’s full-year profit for 2013 was Dhs1.99 billion, up slightly from Dhs1.98 billion a year earlier.

UAE Telco Du Agrees Terms On $720m Loan Financing

Du’s new loan will replace two existing debt facilities.

Zain Bahrain IPO Moves Closer With Notice In Govt Gazette

Under the terms of its licence, Zain Bahrain must sell 15 per cent of its shares in an IPO and list on the Bahrain bourse.

Zain Bahrain To Launch Stock Flotation By End June

The telecoms firm has applied to Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce for approval to become a public company.

Omantel Q4 Profit Up 13% Despite Revenue Drop

Expenses for the quarter, which include wages, interconnection costs and roaming charges, reduced by 2.7 per cent.

Fitch Revises Batelco’s Outlook From Stable To Negative

The revision was mainly driven by Fitch’s concern about regulatory uncertainty in Bahrain, it said.

Oman To Sell 19% Of Omantel In Two Phases

The first phase is reserved for wealthy local investors and due to finish in March and the second will be open to all Omanis, say reports.

Oman Telco Nawras Q4 Profit Falls 3%

The firm, majority-owned by Ooredoo, made a net profit of OMR10 million.

Vodafone Qatar Q3 Net Loss Narrows

The company’s mobile customer base grew 27 per cent to reach 1.27 million mobile customers as of December 31.

Bahrain’s Batelco Profits Fall, Buys Back Bond

Batelco confirmed a deal with Cable & Wireless Communications in 2013 to buy its Monaco and Islands Division for $570 million.

Kuwait’s Zain Posts Flat Q4 Profit, Forex Losses Bite

Zain said foreign exchange revaluations wiped $149 million from its full-year profit.

Saudi Mobily Plans To Launch Piggyback Mobile Service In Q1

The telecom operator is expected to start the service via its partner, London’s Lebara Group.

Saudi Mobile Subscriptions Shrink On Labour Crackdown, Haj Limits

Subscriptions dropped to 51 million as of September 30, 2013, from 56.1 million two years ago.

Kuwait’s Zain Seeks New Loan As $867m Facility Nears Maturity

The $867 million revolving facility is due to mature in March.

Saudi Telecom Profit Lifted By Accounting Change

Saudi Telecom reported a net profit of 3.62 billion riyals in the three months to December 31.

Etisalat Hires Standard Bank For Nigeria Tower Sale

Etisalat Nigeria could raise $400 million by selling its transmitter towers.

Saudi’s Mobily Q4 Profit Rises 8.6%, Beats Forecasts

The company said more income from data and business clients were the reason for the quarterly and annual profit increases.

10% Of UAE’s Mobile Users Switched Operators Since MNP – Survey

The UAE recently introduced mobile number portability (MNP), which allows users to switch operators while retaining their number.

Zain Invested $1bn In Network Upgrades In 2013 – CEO

The telecom operator plans to focus on ICT and enterprise solutions in the future, says CEO Scott Gegenheimer.

GCC Roundup 2013: Telecoms And IT

The region was focused on finding alternate terrestrial cable routes in 2013, writes Paul Brodsky, senior analyst at TeleGeography.

Egypt Telecom Regulator To Issue Unified Telecoms License

The move would allow landline monopoly Telecom Egypt to offer mobile services.

Etisalat Targets SME Customers

Etisalat has been investing in various mobile packages to tap into the country’s lucrative SME customer base.

UAE Telecom Regulator Warns Etisalat, Du Against False Marketing

The TRA has cautioned the operators to avoid using misleading marketing campaigns ahead of the launch of the mobile number portability service.

UAE Telcos Launch Mobile Number Portability

The mobile number portability service will come into effect on December 30.

Bahraini Batelco’s Foreign Ambitions Crimped

The Bahraini operator bought Cable & Wireless Communications’ (CWC) Islands division for $570 million in April.

Etisalat Asks Banks To Wait For Loan Fees

The telecoms firm agreed an $8 billion loan in April to finance its acquisition of a 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom.

UAE Telcos Drop BlackBerry’s BBM Channels

Both du and Etisalat have said they will no longer offer the new social media service.

Etisalat May Revive Talks To Sell Sudanese Unit To Zain

Prior negotiations between the two telcos collapsed around the start of 2013, according to sources.

Zain Wants To Keep Majority Control Of Bahrain Arm After IPO

Zain Bahrain must float 15 per cent of its shares and list on Bahrain’s bourse by year-end.