Business | Telecoms
etisalat to invest $5.5b in African expansion plan
Etisalat, the UAE's leading telecom operator which has already invested $4.5 billion in international expansion, will pump in another $5.5 billion in African markets, a top official said.
- By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor
- Published: 00:10 November 22, 2007
Dubai: Etisalat, the UAE's leading telecom operator which has already invested $4.5 billion in international expansion, will pump in another $5.5 billion in African markets, a top official said.
"This includes $4.1 billion in East Africa and $1.4 billion in West Africa," Mohammad Hassan Omran, etisalat chairman, told delegates at the Telecoms World conference.
"We acquired seven of our eight international assets during the last three years, with a market value of $11 billion."
etisalat, which enjoyed a monopoly in the UAE's domestic market until earlier this year, has registered 6.3 million subscribers in the UAE, out of its regional subscriber base of 33 million - making it the second biggest telecom operator in the region.
"In West Africa we are expanding our footprint with a commercial launch of operations in March next year," he said. "We have submitted bids for a second telecom lic-ence in Qatar and the third licence in Kuwait and hope to win them as well."
Omran underlined his firm's expansion strategy in Africa, saying, "Expanding opportunities in Africa is absolutely the next big battleground," he said.
"Especially with the improving economies in Africa, you'll have a lot more subscription and revenue growth. Technology is now ready for Africa."
etisalat's Saudi subsidiary, Mobily, has recorded 7.2 million subscribers in Saudi Arabia, heading for nine million by the end of this year.
etisalat, which had secured a third mobile lic-ence in Egypt, has already registered three million subscribers in nine months.
"We will achieve 10 million subscribers in three years of commercial operations in Egypt," said Omran. "We believe there will be more growth in Africa. There are opportunities."
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