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Update: Monday, 14 April 2008    

Qtel holds 80% of Watania Algeria shares

Watania Telecom’s chairman to al-Khabar
Wednesday Mar 07 2007.

Andrés Halley, Chairman of Watania Telecom “Nedjma” disclosed to Al-Khabar that the Qatari company Qtel has become the main owner of Watania by 80% after it bought 51% of the Kuwaiti mother company last week.

Speaking on the deal’s effect on Qatari Qtel, Mr Halley says Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) is an investment company which joined mobile telephony through Telecommunication National Society that enters several markets as Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Maldives Islands. It got lately a licence in Palestine. The decision to sell 51% of KIPCO’s shares at the stock exchange of Kuwait comes as a result to motivating figures achieved in Kuwait, Algeria and Tunisia markets.

As to the withdrawal of Orascom from the deal, he says the latter didn’t take part in negotiations, nor did it express its wish to join the competition. What the media broadcast is not true, it’s just rumours, he adds. We asked him about the competitors of Nedjma underlining the fact that the latter is slower, with fewer subscribers. Mr Halley will started by refuting the fact explaining that Nedjma represents an exception in mobile telephony. Though unexpected, we didn’t fail in our mission. Moreover, we have achieved results better than our competitors in one year and a half.

Mr Halley reveals that they seek to get Nedjma covering 97% of Algeria before the end of the year as to meet specifications before the end of the year. We are Covering 74%, now, he adds.

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