Saudi Telecom considers sale or merger of tower network



Saudi Telecom has approached potential bidders for its phone towers as the kingdom’s biggest telecommunications operator weighs options for the infrastructure assets, people familiar with the matter said.

The company has also spoken to competitors Etihad Etisalat and Zain Saudi Arabia about merging the three firms’ towers into a single entity, said the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations are private. Saudi Telecom has not made a final decision on which process it plans to pursue, and no agreements have been reached with any of the parties, the people said.

Spokesmen for Saudi Telecom, Etihad Etisalat and Zain Saudi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Carriers are selling towers to reduce exposure to costly infrastructure. Saudi Telecom chief executive Khaled Bin Hussain Biyari said in a May interview that he was “seriously considering” selling the assets to make the company more efficient. Etihad Etisalat, known as Mobily, abandoned its own tower sale as a result of its larger rival’s plans, people familiar with the matter said last month.

Zain Saudi is also weighing options for its approximately 7,500 towers in the kingdom, including selling them or working with competitors to create one company to manage the assets, Chief Executive Officer Hassan Kabbani said earlier in the year. Saudi Telecom owns more than 10,000 towers in the country, one person said.

The Maaal news website reported the talks to combine the three companies’ mobile assets in February.

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PAKISTAN SQUAD

Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah. 

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Vertonghen (8'), Alli (18')

The specs

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Power: 480kW

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Transmission: Single-speed automatic

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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

 

 

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Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.

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Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.

 

 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
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Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

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Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The Uefa Awards winners

Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)

Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)

Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma

When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5