The UAE’s biggest telecoms operator e& — formerly known as Etisalat — is in talks with Czech investment company PPF Group regarding a possible partnership as part of its push into Europe.
In a statement on Monday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares trade, e& said it was at the "early stage of discussions of forming a potential partnership to explore strategic collaboration opportunities in central and southeastern Europe, excluding the Czech Republic, that are mutually beneficial to both groups".
PPF Group operates in the Czech Republic as well as 25 other countries across Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, covering the financial services, telecommunications, media and e-commerce sectors.
PPF is also active in real estate, biotechnology and transport products and services. The group's founder and previous majority owner Czech billionaire Petr Kellner was killed in a helicopter crash in 2021.
Mr Kellner was the Czech Republic’s richest man at the time of his death with a fortune valued at $15.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
PPF, which has about 40 billion euros ($43.7 billion) in assets and is majority-owned by the Kellner family, has pressed forward with corporate deals in spite of the tragedy.
In February, it took a 9.1 per cent stake in Germany's ProSiebensat.1, becoming its second largest investor behind Italy's MFE-MediaforEurope.
e& said it would make a regulatory filing regarding any future developments in its talks with PPF.
e&, founded in 1976, is the UAE's oldest telecoms company, operating in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The company is expanding its presence and has been on an acquisition spree in recent months.
In May, it invested $60 million for a 10 per cent stake in South Korea’s cloud management company Bespin Global, and also formed a joint venture that will provide public cloud services in the region.
In April, it signed a $400 million deal to acquire a majority stake in Careem’s Super App, a spin-off from Uber, as part of efforts to expand its consumer digital offerings.
This year, e& increased its stake in Vodafone Group to 14 per cent as it continues to consolidate its shareholding in the British company as part of its international expansion plans.
In 2022, the company's net profit increased more than 7 per cent to Dh10 billion ($2.72 billion), despite revenue falling 1.7 per cent to Dh52.4 billion.
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'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
SUZUME
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MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Second leg:
Monday, Azizi Stadium, Tehran. Kick off 7pm
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers
