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Pakistani Phone Subscriptions Soaring on Tensions, Orascom Says
By Patrick Werr
Cairo, Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, owner of Pakistan's biggest mobile phone company, said its rate of subscription sales in the country has risen by half since suicide hijackers attacked the U.S. last week.
The group's Pakistani unit had 375,000 subscribers by mid-year, more than double the combined subscribers of three competitors. All infrastructure in the country is insured, the company said. Shares rebounded from a seven-week low after the announcement
``Political turmoil and instability are positive for our business,'' said Naguib Sawiris, company chairman. ``Our sales in Pakistan have increased by 50 percent since the events in New York. People, when they feel anxiety, they tend to go and buy a phone and be connected.''
The group with stakes in mobile phone companies in the Middle East and Africa shed half its value this year tracking declines in phone stocks worldwide. Shares plunged 15 percent in the past week partly on concern retaliation against Afghanistan for the attacks might destabilize Pakistan, one of the group's important markets.
The long-term outlook for the company's Pakistani business remains good, Sawiris said.
``The stand that the president of Pakistan has taken in siding with the United States I think will have a positive impact on Pakistan as a reward,'' he added. ``Financially, Pakistan will get a lot of help. Their debt will be relieved and we expect a boom after the end of these events.''
Orascom Telecom, which holds cellular phone licenses in 20 Middle Eastern and African countries, lost 70.0 million Egyptian pounds ($16.5 million) in the first half of the year, compared with a profit of 66.1 million pounds in the year-earlier period. Interest expense rose 35 percent during the first three months after replacing a dollar-based loan with one in Egyptian pounds to hedge exchange rate risk, the group said.
Orascom shares rose 0.57 Egyptian pounds, or 3.4 percent, to 17.27 pounds, valuing the company at 1.90 billion Egyptian pounds ($450 million). The company's global depositary receipts rose 9.6 percent to 1.95 British pounds in London trading. |
