Despite a stiff competition in the broadband, mobile telephony and other services, Batelco will continue to be a dominant player in the local as well as regional telecom markets, a senior official at Batelco said.
"Despite a low forecast of revenues in the local market, Batelco is positive to perform well in the other markets to bridge the gap in the overall yield by the year-end," Batelco Bahrain Chief Executive Gert Rieder said during the company's annual Ghabgha meeting held at the Golden Tulip.
Rieder said Batelco would invest BD14.6 million to upgrade the mobile network in the Kingdom raising the bar of mobile broadband services.
"We are also targeting the BlackBerry segment of the business which has been growing since the launch of the service. Batelco is the first telecom player to announce the pre-paid BlackBerry service," he added.
The market indicators show, he said, there will be more demand and growth of BlackBerry and Batleco's innovative products and services will help to get more business from this segment. "We are targeting prepaid and smart phone segments as part of our business model," he added.
In the mobile segment, he said, Batelco is still holding 48 per cent of the overall market share followed by 36 per cent Zain and the remaining by Viva, the third telecom operator in Bahrain.
Last month, Batelco Group which reported a decline of 14 per cent in its net profits in the first half of the year said it was keen on doubling its enterprise value in next five years, mainly through mergers and acquisitions.
"Given the tight market conditions in Bahrain and the GCC, a major acquisition or number of investments overseas will ensure the sustainability or growth for Batelco business model," said Batelco's Group Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kaliaropoulos during a quarterly briefing.
Batelco Group CEO was upbeat on making investments in one or a number of acquisitions worth $1.5 billion to $2 billion and achieving the target of 10 million customers by year-end.
"We said earlier that deal would be concluded by the close of 2010 but we have no time-frame at this point of time despite intense negotiations with companies were going on," he said.
"Bahrain has emerged as one of the most competitive telecom markets in the region with 120 per cent penetration in mobile and 170 per cent in broadband," Peter said, adding Batelco would invest BD30 million in 2010, underpinning the importance of the home ground for the company.
Technically, he said, Batelco is well positioned for a deal as the company is getting credit rating within four weeks' time, a clear benchmark for any company in pre-debt raising exercise.
"Batelco has a zero-debt balance sheet at present and with strong and sustained balance sheet Batelco is in a position to raise debt very easily," he said.
By Mahmood Rafique
© Bahrain Tribune 2010
