Mideast telecom sector can deal with turmoil

Dubai: The telecom sector in the Middle East remains unscathed by the global credit crisis, according to an industry expert.

Hashim Omran, vice-president of asset management firm EFG-Hermes, told Gulf News that the telecom sector is in the best position to deal with the turmoil due to a number of factors.

The top ten telecom operators by market capital in the region have 2.5 times the amount of cash compared to the top ten global operators, Omran said.

"In terms of level of debt relative to international standards, local telecom companies are underleveraged and benefit from having a strong cash position."

It also helped that a lot of regional operators are quasi-government companies, said Omran.

The underdeveloped fixed line network in the Middle East also meant that the demand for mobile phones would not be impacted by the credit crunch, he said.