Etisalat wins dispute over Burkina Faso subsidiary

Abu Dhabi: Emirates Tele-communications Corporation, known by its trade name etisalat, has won an arbitration dispute related to its Burkino Faso subsidiary Telecel Faso.

A tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris yesterday upheld etisalat's claims that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) it entered into with Planor Afrique to settle their dispute regarding Telecel Faso was valid, binding and enforceable and that Planor had breached the MOA.

The MOA was signed by etisalat (as a substantial stakeholder in Atlantique Telecom) and Planor in September 2007 to provide a global settlement of the dispute relating to Telecel Faso.

The MOA stipulates that Atlantique Telecom will own a 68 per cent stake in Telecel Faso and that Planor Afrique will own a 32 per cent stake.

Binding agreement

Ahmad Bin Ali, Group Senior Vice-President of Corporate Communications at etisalat group, said: "Etisalat notes with satisfaction that the ICC Tribunal has confirmed the binding nature of the settlement agreement reached with Planor Afrique.

"Etisalat intends to proceed quickly with the implementation of the MOA so as to facilitate the group's plans for significant contributions to the advancement of the telecommunications sector in Burkino Faso. We would like to assure our customers in Burkino Faso that we will introduce world-class value added services to this fast-growing nation."

The Arbitral Tribunal ordered Planor to take the necessary steps to close the transaction contemplated by the MOA within 60 days from the notification of the award. It also awarded etisalat monetary damages for the losses arising from breach of the MOA.

Matthew Reed, Senior Analyst at Informa Tele-coms and Media, said: "Etisalat might still face challenges in getting this ruling enforced locally, in Burkina Faso. The situation there seems somewhat confused with local reports in the past day or so still describing Telecel Faso as being controlled by the other shareholder Planor.

"Telecel Faso is the only one of the six Atlantique Telecom operations that has not adopted the group's Moov brand — and that is because of the ownership dispute. The Atlantique units are all in West and Central Africa, and etisalat has full ownership of Atlantique."

Etisalat has a strong presence in Africa with growing operations throughout the continent.

Package for city fans

Celebrating its first year of partnership with Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) as its ‘Official Global Telecommunication Partner', etisalat yesterday announced the launch of its ‘etisalat — MCFC Mobile' platform.

The mobile service provides City supporters with live news feeds, video on demand services, mobile downloads of images, ringtones and wallpapers, player profiles, news and much more.

Available in Arabic and English, the ‘Etisalat — MCFC Mobile' service has a special video section that will thrill customers with on-demand clips and download options from the featured match clips and interviews. Customers will be able to subscribe starting next month. For smartphone customers, the service usage will be considered regular Internet surfing using the customer's data package subscription. Unlimited Blackberry customers will not be charged data usage for this service.