Middle East telco KPIs 2009
The Middle East region is one of extreme polarities both in terms of economic development and demographics. The economic polarisation has the potential to widen further as the telecoms markets open to competition; as foreign investment is attracted to the most prosperous countries (largely dominated by the oil industry); and as political unrest impacts several markets.
The region has low fixed teledensity in terms of population and therefore the telecoms sector is dominated by mobile. Broadband penetration (both fixed and mobile) is also extremely low and presents a significant opportunity for telcos in the region.
The telecoms sector in the region has remained largely unaffected by the recession, unlike other sectors such as construction and tourism which have been hit hard, especially in markets such as the UAE. However, several operators in the region have implemented cost/headcount reduction programmes to ensure margins are maintained as prices decline due to the onset of competition.
A number of power players have emerged in the market, including Zain, Etisalat and Orascom, which have expanded rapidly through a combination of both acquiring smaller telcos and purchasing/increasing stakes in other telcos, both within the Middle East and also further afield generally into Africa and Asia.
These players have emerged from the cash-rich Gulf states and are keen to establish themselves as top-ten global telcos by securing greenfield licences and through acquisitions in highly populated high-growth markets. In addition they are innovative in terms of new services and have pushed to achieve synergies to maintain strong margins and revenue growth.
In the short term, it is unlikely that any of these players will seriously threaten existing global players, such as Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom/Orange or Vodafone, as the Middle East players have tended to target only emerging markets and not mature markets where the Western-European global players have their stronghold.
The region has low fixed teledensity in terms of population and therefore the telecoms sector is dominated by mobile. Broadband penetration (both fixed and mobile) is also extremely low and presents a significant opportunity for telcos in the region.
The telecoms sector in the region has remained largely unaffected by the recession, unlike other sectors such as construction and tourism which have been hit hard, especially in markets such as the UAE. However, several operators in the region have implemented cost/headcount reduction programmes to ensure margins are maintained as prices decline due to the onset of competition.
A number of power players have emerged in the market, including Zain, Etisalat and Orascom, which have expanded rapidly through a combination of both acquiring smaller telcos and purchasing/increasing stakes in other telcos, both within the Middle East and also further afield generally into Africa and Asia.
These players have emerged from the cash-rich Gulf states and are keen to establish themselves as top-ten global telcos by securing greenfield licences and through acquisitions in highly populated high-growth markets. In addition they are innovative in terms of new services and have pushed to achieve synergies to maintain strong margins and revenue growth.
In the short term, it is unlikely that any of these players will seriously threaten existing global players, such as Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom/Orange or Vodafone, as the Middle East players have tended to target only emerging markets and not mature markets where the Western-European global players have their stronghold.
- SUMMARY
- OVUM VIEW
- KEY MESSAGES
- MIDDLE EAST DEMOGRAPHICS
- MARKET DYNAMICS
- REGULATORY TRENDS
- STATUS OF LIBERALISATION
- RECESSION PROOFING
- FINANCIAL KPI COMPARISONS
- REVENUES
- EBITDA
- CAPEX
- DEBT
- OPERATIONAL KPI COMPARISONS
- MOBILE
- WIRELINE
- BROADBAND
- VOIP AND IPTV
- WHOLESALE AND ENTERPRISE TRENDS
- COMPANY ANALYSIS
- BATELCO
- ETISALAT
- ORASCOM
- QTEL
- SAUDI TELECOM COMPANY
- TURK TELEKOM
- ZAIN
- OVUM VIEW
- KEY MESSAGES
- MIDDLE EAST DEMOGRAPHICS
- MARKET DYNAMICS
- REGULATORY TRENDS
- STATUS OF LIBERALISATION
- RECESSION PROOFING
- FINANCIAL KPI COMPARISONS
- REVENUES
- EBITDA
- CAPEX
- DEBT
- OPERATIONAL KPI COMPARISONS
- MOBILE
- WIRELINE
- BROADBAND
- VOIP AND IPTV
- WHOLESALE AND ENTERPRISE TRENDS
- COMPANY ANALYSIS
- BATELCO
- ETISALAT
- ORASCOM
- QTEL
- SAUDI TELECOM COMPANY
- TURK TELEKOM
- ZAIN
