The UAE’s biggest telecoms operator, e&, has signed a joint venture agreement with South Korea's Bespin Global to create a new company that will provide public cloud services for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Pakistan.
The entity, which will be branded as “Bespin Global MEA, an e& enterprise company”, will be 65 per cent owned by e& and 35 per cent by Bespin, e& said in a Friday filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
The companies will each contribute an initial $10 million in capital.
Abu Dhabi-based e&, formerly known as etisalat, has also committed to provide the joint venture, which is subject to regulatory approvals, with up to $40 million in shareholder loans to finance the growth of the business, it said.
As part of the agreement, e& enterprise, one of e&'s units, will make a primary investment of $60 million into Bespin and join its board of directors, in exchange for a stake of about 10 per cent.
The UAE company will also have the option to invest a further $60 million within 18 months upon the completion of the transaction, it said.
“The joint venture with Bespin Global and the investment in the holding company are part of our ongoing efforts to extend our cloud offerings and establish our commitment as a trusted partner to governments and enterprises in the UAE,” said Salvador Anglada, chief executive of e& enterprise.
The adoption of cloud technology is growing because of the rise in data consumption and evolving economic and societal landscapes that have become increasingly digital.
A number of global majors have flocked to the UAE and other GCC countries to set up their cloud data centres and serve a market in which demand for the technology has increased significantly, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle and Alibaba.
Global end-user spending on public cloud services alone is expected to approach the $600 billion mark in 2023, with inflationary pressures dictating how much growth the industry will be able to carve out, a study by Gartner showed last month.
The joint venture is part of e&'s strategy of expanding its services and market reach. It is considering a number of moves, including acquiring telecoms companies abroad to broaden its revenue base, and is keen on buying businesses that complement and add value to its consumer business, group chief executive Hatem Dowidar told The National in October.
The partnership will make use of the capabilities of both companies, from e& enterprise's strong local market presence and portfolio of digital transformation solutions to Bespin's specialised skills in cloud and related services.
It will also allow e& to access the South Korean market, one of the most technologically advanced economies globally and home to a number of industry majors, including Samsung Electronics and LG.
“This step is in line with e&’s strategic ambition of scaling up the e& enterprise vertical and enhancing its digital capabilities,” e&'s filing said.
On the other hand, the partnership is also part of Bespin Global's strategy to expand globally and boost its growth plans and profitability, its chief executive and co-founder John Hanjoo Lee said.
“The joint venture will leverage capabilities that will help build the future of cloud business. In addition, we welcome e& as an investor in Bespin Global and appreciate their confidence in our strategy and operations,” he said.
Bespin serves more than 1,700 customers from its locations in South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and the US.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
List of alleged parties
May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff
May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'
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Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party
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Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Manchester United's summer dealings
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Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
Scoreline
Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3
- Agüero 18'
- Kompany 58'
- Silva 65'
MATCH INFO
Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')
Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Power: 134bhp
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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MATCH SCHEDULE
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Wednesday, April 25
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Europa League semi-final, first leg
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Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
