VimpelCom-Orascom Merger Gets Approval: ProPakistani

VimpelCom-Orascom Merger Gets Approval
Withholding Tax on Telecom Services Up by 1.5 %
Pakistani Students Win Intl Windows Phone 7 App Competition
Alert: Acid Rain SMS is Just a Hoax
PTCL’s Rising Portfolio Vs. Falling Profits
Aptec Promotes Symantec in Pakistan

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 04:10 PM PDT

VimpelCom-Orascom Merger Gets Approval is a post from: ProPakistani

VimpleCom OTH VimpelCom Orascom Merger Gets Approval Russia’s VimpelCom has announced that its shareholders today approved the previously announced merger of VimpelCom and Orascom Telecom of Wind Telecom, although Telenor is still opposing the merger.

In today's scheduled Special General Meeting, 93.1% of the Company’s voting shareholders participated, out of which 53.3% of the voting shareholders approved the proposed merger.

"Following this favorable outcome, the management teams of VimpelCom and WIND TELECOM will proceed in satisfying the conditions precedent for the completion of the Transaction, which is expected to take place in the first half of 2011", said a statement issued by the group.

If transaction, subject to regulatory approvals and recipient of funds, goes through – both Wind Telecom and VimpelCom will merge with VimpelCom owning 51.7 % of Orascom Telecom and 100 % of Wind Italy.

Naguib Sawiris, Executive Chairman of Wind Telecom, in return will get $1.495 billion in cash and 325.6 million new common shares and 305 million new convertible preferred shares.

Larger VimpelCom will have more than 173 million subscriber base with with pro forma net operating revenues of US$21.3 billion and pro forma EBITDA of US$9.4 billion for the year ended 31 December, 2009.

Alexander Izosimov, CEO and President of VimpelCom, commented:

“The approval of this transformative combination with Wind Telecom by our shareholders will lead to the creation a new global telecom player with over 173 million mobile subscribers covering a population of 838 million people.

The combined group will have a significantly diversified revenue base, substantially larger scale of operations, and potential synergies estimated to be US$2.5 billion on a net present value basis. This transaction and the shareholder vote underscore the Company’s dedication to delivering substantial value creation for shareholders and our commitment to corporate governance excellence.”

Telenor, which earlier opposed the deal said that its will remain commitment to the future prosperity of VimpelCom.

“Even though we believe VimpelCom would have been better off without this deal, we will now continue to work in the best interest of VimpelCom and its shareholders” said Dag Melgaard, spokesperson Telenor Group.

Naguib Sawiris, Executive Chairman of Wind Telecom, said:

"Following the industry trend of consolidation, we believe there will be only space for larger global operators in the market that will be able to benefit from economies of scale and scope. We look forward to continuing to play a significant role in the global telecom industry as part of one of the biggest telco players in the world."

Pakistan Scenario:

Mobilink will become part merged VimpelCom. In a statement issued today, company welcomed the deal.

Commenting on the decision Rashid Khan, President and CEO, Mobilink said:

"The decision which is in favor of the merger is slated to change the global telecommunication scenario. As a key subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding, Mobilink welcomes this win and looks forward to becoming a part of one of the biggest telecom players in the world."

CCP Approval in Pakistan:

Mobilink in Pakistan being part of Larger VimpelCom will be owned by Telenor Group (with minority stakes) that has its operations in Pakistan with fully owned Telenor Pakistan.

This translates into a proposition according to which Mobilink and Telenor Pakistan will be owned by same group (Telenor International) at a parent group level.

The outcome can possibly form a cartel in Pakistan which may not be favorable for competitors such as Ufone, Warid Telecom and CMPak.

For time being, Competition Commission of Pakistan has granted conditional approval for the Orascom-VimpelCom merger.

A press release issued by CCP said that it conditionally approved the deal after undertaking Phase-II review of the transaction to address the competition concerns.

VimpelCom may face a similar regulatory hurdle in Bangladesh.

Citing Chief Executive of VimpelCom, Alexander Izosimov, Reuters has reported that group will not need sell assets in Pakistan or Bangladesh, based on CCP concerns, he said: “There is no sell-off needed.”

Withholding Tax on Telecom Services Up by 1.5 %

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:38 AM PDT

Withholding Tax on Telecom Services Up by 1.5 % is a post from: ProPakistani

I am sure you must have heard of recent presidential ordinances, according to which withholding tax was increased by 1.5 percent, to be applicable on all services including Telecom.

Based on this ordinance, all prepaid cards and postpaid bills will be charged 11.5 percent as withholding taxes (charges deducted on card reloads)

Deduction on Card Load = 11.5 % Withholding Tax + 5% Services Charges = Rs. 16.5

After this increase in withholding tax, total taxes on telecom services have reached to 31 percent. Following is the complete detail of taxes on Telecom services:

Withholding Tax: 11.5 Percent
Federal Excide Duty: 19.5 Percent
Total Taxes: 31 percent

Just to add to the misery, all cellular companies are charging 5 percent of the credit as services charges. After these charges, total money deducted from cellular services:

Taxes: 31 Percent
Service Charges: 5 Percent (for prepaid only)
Total Deduction: 36 percent

In simple words, Rs. 36 will be deducted out of every Rs. 100 card load.

This is the revenge (in true spirit) taken from the people of Pakistan by the Democracy.

Pakistani Students Win Intl Windows Phone 7 App Competition

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 04:33 AM PDT

Pakistani Students Win Intl Windows Phone 7 App Competition is a post from: ProPakistani

In an exclusive on-going set of competitions sponsored by Microsoft and Dell Incorporation across Middle East and Africa, it is a moment of great pride that out of 79 countries, students from Pakistan have won the first and second set of this competition.

Both winning teams are from FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Karachi.

As we reported earlier, the winning team for set one targeted the football fans. Their application "Kick Now" provides live football updates which include live match scores, upcoming tournaments, top stories, reviews and profiles of players.

In set two, winners developed a shared drawing space named 'Sky Canvas' where multiple users can share their input on a virtual white board simultaneously through the internet. It syncs anything you draw on it with all the users currently viewing it, everyone can draw on the board.

To know more about winners, click here: http://www.meawp7challenge.com/Winners2.aspx

Sharing his views about the competition, Kamal Ahmed, Country General Manager, Microsoft Pakistan said,

"The MEA Windows Phone 7 challenge is a wonderful opportunity for talented students who can use this competition as a showcase for their creativity and innovation to develop the best applications on Windows Phone 7.

I am very excited to see the results produced by students from Pakistan and Microsoft Innovation Center will definitely keep playing its role in nurturing leaders of tomorrow"

Speaking about the competition,Sandra Fraga, Head of META Marketing-CSMB, Dell commented,

"Dell and Microsoft believe in a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems. The Windows Phone 7 Challenge is a great platform to encourage technology innovation amongst students in the Middle East and Africa.

We have seen exciting, creative and diverse new Windows Phone 7 applications being developed for this contest. Dell encourages students to enter this challenge, as it provides real- life experience and an opportunity to turn ideas into reality. Congratulations to all the winners".

The prize distribution ceremony was attended by more than 200 academicians including Deans, Directors, Heads of Departments (HoDs) and Professors from major universities in Karachi.

Addressing the attendees Dr. Asim ur-Rehman, Director, FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Karachi, said

"MEA Phone 7 Challenge provides a platform to students to explore new ways of addressing the world's toughest problem through the power of mobile technology.

The high calibre of the students and their projects is an evidence of the high level of innovation seen in the student community today, as Director of FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Karachi,I really feel proud to see that my students felt the responsibility to address the world’s toughest challenges and are recognized by the companies like Microsoft".

Alert: Acid Rain SMS is Just a Hoax

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 11:00 PM PDT

Alert: Acid Rain SMS is Just a Hoax is a post from: ProPakistani

If you are mobile phone user, then there are good chances that you must have received multiple SMSes regarding Acid Rain, such as:

"A nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, exploded at 4.30am today. If it rains tomorrow or later, don’t go outside. If you are outside, be sure that you have rain protectors. It’s acid rain. Don’t let it touch you. You may burn your skin, lose your hair or have cancer. Please pass, stay safe and remind everyone you know."

So what this Acid Rain and the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan has to do with forward messages in Pakistan?

It might look a nonsense to you, but the fact is that these forwarded messages were spread in Malaysia and Philippines and somehow one of such message hit Pakistan to make its way to every mobile subscriber in the country.

Be Informed:

There is no such thing known as Acid Rain, and this is not happening anywhere, at least in Pakistan. In fact, authorities in Philippines and Malaysia have actually officially clarified that these chain messages are just a hoax and nothing more.

Forwarding an SMS (Containing Information) is a SIN

We have written in past that forwarding an SMS without verification is a SIN as per various Islamic scholars.

They say that forwarding an SMS (which contains information) without verification is just like you are lying to the recipient.

Sending forward jokes/quotations is fine.

Who Gets Benefited of these SMS Chains:

Just in case if you don't know, these forward messages are usually spread by those VAS providers who develop and then drive these messages into masses.

So these companies must be aware of the fact that they are doing an illegal activity by spreading the fake/altered information.

We know that our authorities are not capable enough of capping all these fraudulent people, but as an individual we can can play our role by not forwarding messages without verification.

Remember:

If there is an emergency, or something which is worth communicating, your loved ones are going to call you. They won't spread such severe information (such as Acid Rain) as an SMS.

Thanks to Samz for tipping us on this.

PTCL’s Rising Portfolio Vs. Falling Profits

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 09:30 PM PDT

PTCL’s Rising Portfolio Vs. Falling Profits is a post from: ProPakistani

PTCL logo1 PTCLs Rising Portfolio Vs. Falling Profits Until the turn of the century, and possibly beyond, acquiring a phone line at your residence was an expedition of great mystery. In fact, the following tale personifies the tormented past of Pakistan's premier telecommunication provider, PTCL, and offers one of the best examples of a journey that has been covered by the burdened giant.

A Story from the Past:

A young man beginning his professional chapter of life in the late 1980s applied for a telephone line to be connected at this residence in Karachi. The process at that stage was to wait for a demand notice to arrive at the specified residence which was needed to be paid in advance of the line being connected.

In simpler forms, it was a registration fee that doubled as an address verification system. Clever!

The young man waited for this notice day after day, while continuing his grind of work and life. As time passed, the young man ended up being posted to other cities and eventually settled in Islamabad.

Then one day, he received a phone call at his current residence from the tenant of the Karachi place he had occupied several decades ago. A demand notice had arrived from PTCL for a telephone connection in the man's name, and the tenant wanted to have the connection installed.

The above is not a vengeful attack on PTCL, but highlights a plight that is likely to be resonated by many across the country. And be mindful, similar cases exist in the telecommunication industry across the world; from the most developed to the under-construction nations.

Betterment After Privatization:

Since the privatization process in 2006 handed management control of PTCL to the Emirates Telecommunication Corporation, ETISALAT, a rapid process of transformation has been undertaken on all fronts.

In addition to bringing the technology at par with the Middle East, as a minimum, there have also been great strides in rebranding the telecommunication company and revamping its image in the public eye. The new logo and color scheme, the inviting décor of sorts, coupled with some professionalism in customer service, has made the experience of dealing with PTCL quite a bit better now.

On the technology front, it would be hard for one to state anything detrimental to the moves made. From the updated helpline to the multitude of services now available through the very same copper wire that was always entering your home boundary, it has been an increasing portfolio month after month.

Falling Revenues:

However, the financials reported by the company for the year ending 2010 are not as impressive as expected. In the 6 months till December 2010, classified as the first two quarters of the current fiscal year, the group recorded a 4.5% rise in revenue compared to the same period in the previous financial year. At the same stage, there was also a 10% rise in costs for the group, resulting in an overall drop of 4% in gross profit. In the split between segments, Wire line operations saw a 6.5% drop in revenue while its Wireless counterpart saw a 16% rise.

The Why Part:

This shift between segments appears to fall in line with the general trends across the telecommunication segment in many countries, where fixed line revenues have dipped as consumers move towards the many options in the wireless portfolio. Most operators have resorted to diversification in the portfolio, including acquisitions of wireless start-ups, as means of increasing the revenue streams.

PTCL retains its hold on geographical reach and the technical backbone. However, it appears that improved products like Smart TV and DSL have not managed to attract a better return from the market. Despite holding off strong competition on both fronts, the increase in subscriber numbers have not provided any increase in revenues.

While analysts do attribute some of this fiscal drop to the competition, there is also the group's own portfolio acting as a double-edged sword. The convenience of Wireless may be attracting the very same consumers who would have taken the Wire line services a year or so ago.

And with more companies offering Wireless solutions, the battle for a larger share of the market is tighter to handle. Of course, the competition currently remains restricted to the urban centers, with PTCL utilizing its extensive exchange network to offer its vast services across many towns and rural regions. However, if ARPU is the main purpose of any operation or investment, the urban population is convincingly stronger on that front.

As cellular operators evaluate the saturation they are reaching in their industry segments, it is likely that more amalgamated options will be introduced from service providers in a bid to make the one consumer a revenue generator through multiple services. The convenience for the customer is having to deal with only one service provider; something that still escapes PTCL and its owned subsidiary, Ufone.

With 3G, 4G and all other Gs being proposed in the telecommunication industry, as well as partnerships between cellular operators and ISPs, the market is shaping towards more battles on the complete solution front. An interesting scenario for consumers; hope PTCL is up to it.

Aptec Promotes Symantec in Pakistan

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 09:28 PM PDT

Aptec Promotes Symantec in Pakistan is a post from: ProPakistani

Aptec held launch events in Pakistan to promote its position as the sole distributor of Symantec products in the country.

More than 120 channel executives from 60 channel resellers attended the events in Karachi and Lahore.

The meetings included expert speakers from Symantec as Aptec looks to equip Pakistani resellers with the skills required to sell the vendor's products and solutions.

Essam Baghdady, VP at Aptec, pointed out the strong growth prospects for technology in emerging markets, claiming that the Pakistani ICT sector's estimated value is already US$12.8 billion per annum. Aptec also cited figures claiming that the Pakistani IT market would grow 35% year-on-year in 2011 and that the in-country channel employed some 150,000 professionals in more than 1,500 IT companies.

Muhammed Tahir, senior technical manager at Symantec, provided a technical presentation on the vendor's security offerings to delegates. Rizwan Ahmed, Aptec's country manager in Pakistan also participated in the channel events.

Baghdady concluded: "Our partnership model focuses on optimizing availability and the ease of transactional business. We therefore put an emphasis on partner planning, enablement and joint campaigns. Investment in additional services and technologies can add value to our partners' offerings."

Aptec continues to extend its reach across the wider Middle East, Turkey and Africa region. In addition to its expansion in Pakistan, the distributor is also preparing to bulk up its presence in Azerbaijan, opening a new office in Baku.

Via ChannelMEA