Kuwait Zain Pays $12.5m To Up Stake In Bahrain Unit To 63%

Zain did not explain why it had done the deal but its chief executive said last year that the Kuwaiti telco wanted to retain majority control of the subsidiary.

Iraq Says Mobile Operators Can Launch 3G Services

Decision reverses an earlier plan to hold a multimillion dollar auction.

Turkish Airlines Records Over 25% Passenger Growth In 2013

The airline received 48.3 million passengers in 2013.

Etisalat To Sell West African Units To Maroc Telecom For $650m

The agreement is dependent on Etisalat’s acquisition of a 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom from Vivendi.

UAE Telco Operator Du Aims For Double-Digit Revenue Growth In 2014

Chief executive Osman Sultan was bullish on the company’s prospects despite a slow net profit growth of 4.5 per cent in the first quarter.

UAE Telco Du Q1 Net Profit Rises 4.8%

The firm made a net profit of Dhs490.3 million ($133.49 million) in the three months to March 31.

Qatar’s Ooredoo Q1 Net Profit Rises On Asset Sale

The telco made a net profit of 887 million riyals ($243.62 million) in the three months ended March 31, it said in a statement.

Saudi Telco Mobily Seeks 20% Stake In Landline Firm Atheeb

Mobily signed a memorandum of understanding in August with four of Atheeb’s founding shareholders to buy a controlling interest in the firm.

Saudi Arabia Starts Payout To Minority Investors In Ailing Telco

A royal decree last May ordered the liquidation of the firm, which never launched services despite making a winning SAR1 billion bid for a fixed telecom licence in 2007.

Bahrain’s Batelco Q1 Net Profit Rises 8%

The former monopoly made a net profit of 14.5 million dinars ($38.46 million) in the three months to March 31.

Oman Telco Nawras Q1 Profit Rises 14%

The firm made a net profit of 8.8 million rials ($22.86 million) in the three months to March 31, a statement said.

UAE’s Etisalat Signs 3.15bn Euro Loan For Maroc Telecom Buy

This loan is split between a 2.1 billion euro one-year bridge loan and a 1.05 billion three-year portion, Etisalat said.

Abu Dhabi Government Fund Backing Etisalat’s Maroc Tel Buy – Sources

The fund is most likely to be Mubadala, sources said, given that it already has telecommunications assets and an existing partnership with Etisalat in Africa.

UAE Etisalat Profit Rises As Revenue And Subscribers Grow

The telco made a net profit of Dhs2 billion ($544.5 million) in the three months to March 31, according to a company statement.

Saudi Telecom Picks Banks For Debut Sukuk Issue – Sources

The sources said it was currently unclear if STC was looking to complete a sukuk issue in the local Saudi market.

Kuwait Wataniya First-Quarter Profit Rises 1.5% Despite Domestic Slump

Wataniya made a net attributable profit of 19.8 million dinars ($70.3 million) in the three months to March 31.

Saudi Telco Mobily Q1 Net Profit Rises 4.5%, Misses Estimates

Mobily made a first-quarter net profit of 1.4 billion riyals ($373.3 million), up from 1.34 billion riyals in the prior-year period.

Saudi Telecom Q1 Profit Rises 54%

The firm made a net profit of 2.39 billion riyals ($637.3 million) in the three months to March 3.

Kuwait’s Zain Q1 Profit Rises 8%

The firm made a net profit of 55.9 million dinars ($198.5 million) in the three months to March 31.

Kuwait’s Zain Says Sued For $4.5bn Over Iraq Telco Buy

The company, which filed a lawsuit, claims Zain’s takeover had stopped the firm buying Iraqna, causing it losses of $4.5 billion.

Zain Saudi Q1 Net Loss Narrows, Beats Estimates

The company made a net loss of $84.8 million in the three months to March 31.

Saudi Telco Regulator To Re-Tender Piggyback Mobile Licence On Zain Saudi’s Network

Saudi’s Communications and Information Technology Commission named Dubai-based Axiom Telecom as the provisional winner last year.

Bahrain’s Batelco Names New CEO

Prior to joining Batelco, Alan Whelan has worked in firms such as AT&T, BT and other telecom companies in India and Macao.

Kuwaiti Telecom Operator Zain Signs $250m Islamic Loan

Zain will use the money to meet its “operational and expansion financing needs”, it said in a statement.

Samsung Galaxy S5 UAE Price Confirmed

The S5 will be priced similarly to it’s Sony and HTC rivals, also set to release soon.

Bahrain Batelco’s Bond Buy-Back Ends, $131m Purchased

Debt holders tendered $136.1 million of bonds and Batelco agreed to buy back $131.4 million of them, a statement said.

Kuwait’s Parliament Approves Bill To Create Telecom Regulator

Kuwait is the only Gulf Arab country without a telecom regulator.

BT Accelerates Middle East Jobs Push

The telco is continuing to expand its workforce across the Middle East and Asia.

Bahrain Watchdog Eases Batelco Broadband Price Restrictions

Batelco’s share of retail broadband subscribers has fallen to 20-30 per cent in 2012 from 70-80 per cent in 2008.

Bahrain’s Batelco Plans Further Buy-Back Of 2020 Bonds

The company has offered to buy back up to $200 million in principal amount of its 4.25 per cent, $604.4 million guaranteed notes maturing in 2020.