SHARJAH, 3 June 2005 — The Emirates Telecommunication Corporation’s investment arm Etisalat International has signed a memo of understanding with Hong Kong’s Huawei Technologies Investment Co. under which it will receive $1 billion as financing for its international operations.
Etisalat has emerged as a regional as well as international operator, with franchises in the Middle East as well as Africa. As such, the financing arrangement is key to its strategy.
Huawei, a fast growing vendor of mobile phone software and equipment, delivers solutions to deploy and operate mobile networks in more than 70 countries.
Obaid Saeed Bin Mes’har, CEO of Etisalat International, said the MoU calls for an initial funding of $1 billion but “it is not limited and can be increased depending on the investment opportunities and requirements.”
“The scope of this understanding is to set up an effective working relationship between the corporations, and to jointly explore investment and business opportunities in the region and beyond. We eagerly look forward to many opportunities that will be opened to both the corporations,” he said.
Wang Jiading, vice president of Huawei for Middle East and North Africa, said: “We at Huawei are confident that our tying up with this regional giant will help us gain inroads into the region. We will support Etisalat in its international expansion program.”
Meanwhile, the government of the emirate of Dubai has announced a huge power and water project at a cost of 3.42 billion dirhams as part of four-year Dh10 billion capacity expansion program in Dubai. The Jebel Ali Power and Desalination Station L Phase 2 is largest project of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
Saeed Mohammad Al-Tayer, DEWA managing director and chief executive officer, said more projects were in the offing with a view to meeting an expected growth in demand due to the huge construction and development projects,” he said.
The total output of the Jebel Ali plant will be about 1,200 mega watts of power and 55 million imperial gallons per day of water. The project was awarded to the consortium of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company of Korea and Fisia Italimpianti of Italy. Lahmeyer International of Germany are the consultants.