South Africa based mobile towers infrastructure operator, Africa Cellular Towers has been served with a liquidation order by the South Gauteng High Court after failing to stave off bankruptcy.

The company has struggled against rising debts and falling revenues for the past year, and a few months ago an unnamed creditor started proceedings against the company.

The company, listed on the stock exchange, declined to name the creditor in June but simply said that a liquidator would be appointed shortly. Two directors also resigned from the company.

Africa Cellular Towers operates three divisions, providing power lines, cellular towers and equipment shelters.

The company has been posting losses and was seeking an outside investor but had not secured the necessary investment before the winding up order was served.

The Pakistan government and Etisalat are reported to have settled a long running dispute over the price paid for a stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) in 2006.

Etisalat offered US$2.6 billion for a 26 per cent stake in PTCL back in 2006 in staggered payments, but has withheld US$800 million in a dispute over the transfer of assets from the government to the telco.

According to the terms of the agreement, Etisalat was due to pay US$1.4 billion within one month after the signing of the deal in early 2006 and the remaining amount of US$1.2 billion was due to be paid in equal instalments over 4 and a half years, with one instalment every six months.

The settlement reportedly agrees to a payment of US$700 million by Etisalat, which is a reduction of US$100 million based on the valuation of the assets not handed over.

Long standing plans by Etisalat to increase its holding to a controlling 51 per cent stake have been on hold until the dispute is settled.

Wataniya Telecom announced that Bassam Hannoun has been appointed as CEO and will commence in his new role soon.

Abdulaziz Fakhroo resumes his role as deputy CEO having been appointed acting CEO following the resignation and departure of Scott Gegenheimer in June 2012 to pursue other opportunities.

Hannoun was most recently the CEO of Wataniya Mobile Palestine, where he was responsible for the successful IPO and growth of operations. Previously he was CEO of Jordan’s leading WiMAX operator, Wi-tribe Jordan, a subsidiary of the Qtel Group. In addition to over twenty years industry experience in Europe and the Middle East, Hannoun has a PhD in telecommunications engineering and holds a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on strategic marketing.

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.