Etisalat’s strong operational performance in 2008 has prompted the board to recommend a 35 per cent dividend to its shareholders, in addition to the 25 per cent issued earlier last year, bringing the total to 60 per cent for the full year in 2008.

Etisalat shareholders are benefiting from the company’s exceptional operational performance in 2008, with net profit of AED8.665 billion

The UAE company’s net revenues reached AED26.1 billion (US$7.1 billion), up 22 per cent from 2007, with net profit of AED8.665 billion, 19 per cent more than the same period a year earlier.

At the end of 2008, the operator reported a UAE subscriber base consisting of 7.3 million mobile users, 1.36 million fixed-line customers, and 1.153 million Internet subscribers. It is also present in 18 markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with Iran and India the most recent additions to its overseas portfolio.

During Zain’s first four months of operation in Saudi Arabia since launch in August 2008, the operator added 2.01 million subscribers to obtain a market share of seven per cent by December last year.

Zain Group CEO Saad Al Barrak expects the Saudi operation to break even within three years of launch

Zain revealed the 2008 results for its Saudi operation, which showed the company achieved revenues of SAR506 million (US$135 million), exceeding revenue targets by 27 per cent. The company also announced a net loss for the period of SAR2.28 billion, reflecting only four months of revenue, but 18 months of startup and operating costs. These costs included the initial public offering and preliminary branding campaigns.

“With the robustness of the Saudi Arabian economy playing a decisive role, we are very confident that Zain Saudi Arabia will be a shining star among the Zain group of companies and we expect that the huge investments in the brand and network to date will see even better results for 2009 and beyond. We expect the company to be profitable within a three year time frame,” stated Zain Group CEO, Saad Al Barrak.

Zain’s competitors in the kingdom are STC and Mobily, which combined have 26.6 million subscribers. Prior to Zain’s entry, Etisalat subsidiary Mobily had a market share of more than 30 per cent, having launched in Saudi Arabia in June 2006.

Zain was awarded the third GSM licence in Saudi in 2007 for an investment of US$6.1 billion. In February 2008 the company completed its IPO for 700 million shares, 50 per cent of the company’s capital, raising US$1.87 billion. The operator’s 2G and 3G network covers 95 per cent of the populated areas covering 15 major highways and 44 cities, with the remaining areas on a national roaming agreement. The company has invested more than US$1.5 billion in network rollout to date.

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The majority of growth in LG’s mobile handset business in 2009 will come from its increasing GSM device portfolio, as it targets a global market share of 10 per cent, up from 8.5 per cent in 2008, according to the company’s global CEO Yong Nam in Dubai today.

LG’s global CEO Yong Nam said Middle East and Africa has a lot of mobile market share to catch up on, having only 2-3 per cent regionally, compared to 8.5 per cent globally

Nam emphasised that while LG leapfrogged Motorola and Sony Ericsson in 2008 to take the third position globally behind Nokia and Samsung in terms of global handset shipments, LG can still improve its market share further. Nokia leads the market with 39.7 per cent share, followed by Samsung with 16.7 per cent.

Nam added that the company is still lagging behind in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, providing a large opportunity for growth. LG’s MEA market share in mobile handsets stands at only 2-3 per cent.

“I just came back from Mobile World Congress where I saw all the displays from our competitors. I also met many different operators and we were able to resonate their reaction about our strategic direction with them. I have a lot of confidence that we can gain market share, and specifically in this region,” Nam commented.

The CEO added that of all LG Electronics’ business lines – which includes home appliances and air-conditioning units – the mobile communication business holds the largest potential this year in the face of the worldwide economic crisis.

Across the company, US$1.5 billion will be spent on R&D this year, up from US$1.3 billion last year, while the marketing budget for 2009 has also increased from 2008.

Ahmad Haleem, formerly the CEO of Wataniya International, has assumed the role of senior advisor to Zain Group CEO, Saad Al Barrak, Comm. can reveal.

Based in Bahrain, Haleem will form part of the senior management team charting the strategic direction of the pan-regional operator, focussing on group-level developments.

The appointment brings Haleem back into the fray as a senior management figure of a regional service provider after a two-year hiatus. In April 2007 Haleem said he felt the time was right for him to explore other opportunities following the agreement by 51 per cent of Wataniya Telecom shareholders to sell a controlling stake in the operator to Qtel. Wataniya International is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Wataniya Telecom.

Qtel’s US$3.4 billion offer for the 51 per cent stake in Wataniya Telecom valued the entire company at close to US$7 billion, and Haleem believes together with his management team at Wataniya International, he was instrumental in helping create much of this value. The international arm of Wataniya was only established as a holding company in July 2004, following Wataniya’s expansion into markets including Tunisia, Algeria and Iraq.

In the time following his departure from Wataniya International, Haleem harboured plans to establish an investment company of sorts, which would look to create value in opportunities occurring in the region. He deferred the creation of this venture until the “economic market turmoil calms down,” and subsequently became involved in a company called Meeza Technical Solutions, which caters to mobile operators in the in-building solutions arena.

Haleem earned a Bachelors Degree of Science in Accounting from the University of Illinois, Chicago and obtained his CPA qualification in 1989. After 14 years of service with Motorola, he was appointed as CFO of Wataniya Telecom in Kuwait in 2001.  In March 2004, he was appointed CEO of Wataniya International.

Etisalat announced today that the 3G iPhone is now available from its outlets and selected retail venues across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with both the 8GB and 16GB models available. The operator will offer the devices in tandem with four different tariff plans for each model on 12 month contracts.

The extremely popular 3G mobile device allows users to download email attachments and view web pages, includes built-in GPS, and runs iPhone 2.2 software, which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. Users are also able to run thousands of third party applications on offer through the Apple App Store.

Postpaid plan 1 for the 8GB model will cost AED2,646 (US$720) for the device and AED199 a month rental, and includes 500MB data, 125 national voice minutes and 125 national SMS per month. In comparison, postpaid plan 4 for the 16GB model will cost AED375 for the device and AED643 for monthly rental, and includes 2GB data, 500 national voice minutes and 300 national SMS per month.

Etisalat’s 3G mobile broadband network offers download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps and upload speeds of 1.9 Mbps, with coverage of 99 per cent of the populated areas in the UAE.

“iPhone is a perfect blend of advanced functionality and high performance and we are delighted to be one of the first operators in the region to offer this to our customers on the nation’s most advanced high speed network,” stated Essa Al Haddad, Etisalat chief marketing officer.