عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi PIF Considers Bidding for Qatar's Ooredoo Tower Unit

Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering a final bid for Ooredoo network towers (QNA)
Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering a final bid for Ooredoo network towers (QNA)
TT
20
TT

Saudi PIF Considers Bidding for Qatar's Ooredoo Tower Unit

Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering a final bid for Ooredoo network towers (QNA)
Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering a final bid for Ooredoo network towers (QNA)

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering a final bid for network towers sold by Qatari telecom firm Ooredoo.

According Bloomberg, informed sources said the PIF expressed its keenness to be among the suitors for the Qatari telecom and submit offers for the final purchase competing with American Tower Corp, IHS Holding, and Helios Towers.

Ooredoo announced its revenues at the end of October amounting to $2.4 billion, a four percent increase compared to last year.

Capital spending during the period amounted to $1.6 billion, while free cash flow increased three percent and reached $800 million, driven in particular by a decrease in capital spending.

Last August, Ooredoo launched its new brand positioning and tagline, "Upgrade Your World," which revolves around enabling human progress, reflecting the company's commitment to improving and never standing still.

In September, the group signed an agreement to sell its Myanmar unit to Singapore vehicle Nine Communications, with an enterprise value of $576 million, subject to the customary closing conditions, including Myanmar regulatory approvals.

Earlier, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently announced that PIF had established five regional companies in Arab countries, with a value of $24 billion, to contribute to supporting innovative initiatives and stimulating the capabilities of regional countries.

Prince Mohammed, the PIF Chairman, announced that the Fund would establish five companies to invest in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Sudan.

The Fund disclosed its plans during the second day of the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative recently held in Riyadh, in the presence of a group of investors, innovators, and world leaders.

The companies aim to invest up to $24 billion in opportunities across various key sectors in each market.

The companies will invest in various vital sectors, including but not limited to infrastructure, real estate development, mining, healthcare, financial services, food and agriculture, manufacturing, telecoms, and technology, among other strategic sectors and industries in each country.

The establishment of the five new companies will contribute to an increase in regional investment opportunities for PIF's portfolio companies and Saudi Arabia's private sector, bolstering attractive financial returns over the long term and creating more avenues for strategic economic collaboration with the private sector in the target countries as well as enabling the Saudi private sector.

Most Viewed

 
Business

Egypt Govt Pledges Wage Hikes, Relief for Citizens

A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Egypt Govt Pledges Wage Hikes, Relief for Citizens

A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)

The Egyptian government has pledged to improve wages and ease the financial burden on citizens by raising the minimum wage to 7,000 Egyptian pounds (1 USD = 50.45 EGP in banks) starting from the new fiscal year in July 2025.

In its proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the government allocated an 18.1% increase in wage provisions, totaling 671 billion pounds to fund the new salary increases.

This includes a 10% increase in the periodic allowance for civil service law employees and a 15% increase for non-civil service employees, with a minimum increase of 150 pounds per month, according to Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk's statement on Monday.

The government measures also include raising the “cost of living allowance” from 600 to 1,000 pounds and increasing the additional incentive by 300 pounds across all job grades.

This will result in a minimum monthly salary increase of 1,100 pounds for the lowest job grade, boosting overall wages.

While welcoming the increase in the minimum wage, Samira Al-Jazzar, a member of the parliamentary plan and budget committee, called on the government to take further steps to ensure citizens benefit from the wage hikes.

She stressed the need to regulate markets and implement strict measures against price manipulators.

Al-Jazzar expressed concerns about potential price hikes, which could lead to a rise in inflation again.

She told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government should have pursued multiple strategies to address this issue.

The lawmaker also emphasized the importance of expanding production, which she believes would gradually reduce prices.

Economic expert Karim Al-Omda told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new wage increases are a preemptive move by the government to mitigate public anger over expected rises in fuel and service prices.

The government plans to raise fuel prices three times by the end of this year as part of a fuel subsidy reduction strategy under the economic reform program agreed with the International Monetary Fund, which secured a $12 billion loan, according to statements from Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

Al-Omda urged the government to accelerate improvements in the education and healthcare sectors to genuinely enhance citizens' lives.

He highlighted the urgency of speeding up the implementation of the "comprehensive health insurance" system and making substantial reforms to the education system.

The Ministry of Finance has pledged to allocate the necessary funds to hire over 75,000 teachers, 30,000 doctors, and 10,000 other personnel in various government sectors in the upcoming fiscal year.