Liberia mobile network, LiberCell has been ordered to close its services by the country’s tax courts for reportedly failing to pay license fees.

The company, which is 30 per cent, owned by Kuwait’s Hits Telecom is said to owe US$1.5 million in licence fees, and will remain closed until the debt is settled.

Citing local reports, Bloomberg News said that court documents have been delivered to the doors of the company’s head office in Monrovia.

LiberCell’s CFO said that they are seeking the funds from the parent company and expect to settle the debt within the next few days.

It was reported in August 2010 that Hits Telecom was looking to increase its stake in the company to a majority stake.

Qtel Group today announced results for the six-month period to end-June, reporting its consolidated customer base stood at 83.7 million, up eight per cent year-on-year. Group revenue for the period amounted to QAR16.4 billion (US$4.5 billion), up 6.1 per cent year-on-year, with EBITDA for the period amounting to QAR7.8 billion, up 8.2 per cent.

Net profit attributable to Qtel shareholders was down 11.8 per cent to QAR1.35 billion, with the telco attributing this mainly to foreign exchange losses in Indosat and Algeria.

For Q2 to end-June, Qtel’s revenue was up 4.6 per cent to QAR8.356 billion year-on-year, while EBITDA was up 8.5 per cent to QAR3.964 billion. Net profit attributable to Qtel shareholders was down 11.3 per cent year-on-year to QAR641 million.

In Qatar Qtel ended the quarter with 2.43 million customers (H111: 2.38 million). Revenue increased by 7.2 per cent year-on-year to QAR3.1 billion. EBITDA performance showed an increase of 5.8 per cent year-on-year to QAR1.64 billion.

Wataniya Telecom, which encompasses the Qtel Group’s businesses in Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the Maldives and Palestine, saw the telco’s consolidated customer base remaining strong at 18.3 million (H111: 16.9 million). Consolidated revenue in H112 was QAR4.8 billion (H111: QAR4.6 billion) and EBITDA in H112 remained stable at QAR2.0 billion (H111: QAR 2.0 billion).

In Oman, Qtel’s Nawras operation saw H112 revenues stabilise when comparing with H111 although significant competitive pressures remained. The period also saw a return to customer growth both in the mobile and fixed segments. Nawras closed the period with a customer base of 2.0 million (H111: 1.9 million). Revenue for the period was down to QAR939 million (H111: QAR954 million), delivering a lower EBITDA performance year-on-year to QAR456 million for H112 (H111: QAR466 million).

During H112, Qtel reached an agreement on the increase to its shareholding in Asiacell in Iraq from 30 per cent to 53.9 per cent. Over time, the Group hopes to increase further its shareholding to 60 per cent for a total consideration of US$1.47 billion subject to Iraqi government and regulatory authority approval.

In H112, revenue at Asiacell increased by 17.5 per cent to QAR3.3 billion and EBITDA grew by 19.6 per cent to QAR1.8 billion.

Millicom International has announced that its president and CEO, Mikael Grahne is to step down from the position at the end of October. He is being replaced by Hans-Holger Albrecht, currently the president and CEO of Modern Times Group, an entertainment broadcasting group.

Hans-Holger has also been a member of the Millicom board of directors since May 2010 and will step down from this role with immediate effect.

Grahne has served as Millicom’s president and CEO since March 2009, having joined Millicom in February 2002 as COO.

Foreign investors will be able to buy stock in the UAE’s Etisalat, according to local media reports.

Etisalat Group CEO Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar is quoted as saying Emirates Investment Council is currently working on amending the law to allow foreign ownership of Etisalat shares. It remains unclear how much of the telco could be owned by overseas investors.

Etisalat operates in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It has a presence in markets including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Niger, Central African Republic, Tanzania and Sudan.

Etisalat is currently 60 per cent owned by the government, with the remainder listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange.

Of the listed companies that do permit overseas investors, the majority have limited this to around 25 per cent, although in some cases the stakeholding is permitted to be as high as 49 per cent.

UAE telco Du reported Q2 revenues rose by 12.9 per cent to AED2.5 billion (US$689 million), while net profit surged by 51 per cent to AED651 million.

The net profit margin (before royalty) stood at 26.6 per cent, up from 19.1 per cent in Q211.

Mobile revenues grew by a further 14 per cent year-on-year, reaching AED 1.9 billion, with drivers of performance in this segment continuing to include growth in the company’s customer base, strong minutes of use, and data usage.

At the end of July, Du’s share of the UAE mobile market stood at 46.5 per cent, based on the data published by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and competitor disclosures. Du now serves a total of 5.73 million active mobile customers.