DUBAI, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Bahrain Telecommunications Co’s (Batelco) sale of its stake in Indian affiliate S Tel will help it achieve double-digit profit growth in 2012, the former monopoly said on Wednesday.

On Feb. 8, Batelco announced it would it sell its 43-percent holding in S Tel for $175 million to its Indian partner, the first exit by a foreign operator since an Indian court cancelled 122 telecoms licences last month amid a corruption probe.

Batelco will receive the same price it paid to acquire the S Tel stake in 2009, with the sale expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

Batelco said this would help offset falling revenue — it forecast “low single digit decline” in 2012 — due to intense competition in Bahrain from rival operators Viva, a unit of Saudi Telecom Co (STC) and Kuwait’s Zain.

Batelco’s domestic profit was 67.8 million dinars ($180 million) last year, down 21 percent from 2010, while profit at its Jordan unit Umniah rose 15 percent to 13.6 million dinars over the same period.

Its other affiliates, which include Internet providers in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and S Tel, swung to a combined profit of 2.4 million dinars in 2011. This compares to a loss of 7.2 million dinars a year earlier.

(Reporting by Matt Smith)

DUBAI (Reuters) – Entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates could win up to 2 million dirhams ($544,500) in a new reality television series launched by a telecoms operator to nurture small business.

The reality show, inspired by popular U.S. and British shows

“The Apprentice” and “Dragon’s Den”, will be broadcast across the Gulf Arab region later this year.

“The Entrepreneur” will see hopefuls judged by a panel of four executives on the viability of their ventures in an eight-episode series slated to air on Dubai One television over the summer.

“There are a lot of people with great ideas and they have the passion and the drive, but it always stops at the funding,” said Hala Badri, vice president for brand and communications at telecoms operator du which estimates there are about 200,000 small- to medium-sized enterprises in the UAE.

“We feel this will help bring angel investors into the region, elevate the economy and make the UAE a destination for ideas.”

Badri said on Tuesday that if the program is successful, it may become an annual event. Deadline for applications is March 31 and is restricted to UAE residents who have a valid business license.

DUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) – UAE telecoms operator Etisalat may restructure its operations to cut costs, the company said on Monday, as it tries to arrest falling profits.

The board of the former monopoly, which operates in 17 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, also proposed a 60 percent dividend for 2011, the same as 2010.

The company said its board had discussed restructuring and outsourcing options.

“Competition and (a) drop in prices across the region has made it difficult for telecom service providers to maintain revenue levels, especially in emerging markets,” it said.

On February 9, Etisalat reported annual net profit fell 24 percent to 5.8 billion UAE dirhams ($1.6 billion), due in part to impairments it took relating to Indian affiliate Etisalat DB, which is poised to lose its licence.

Etisalat has reported falling profits in seven of the past eight quarters as earnings from its foreign units fail to make up for sagging home revenue.

The domestic decline is due to price competition from du and a move among the UAE’s mainly expat population to uses Voice over IP (VoIP) services for international calls.

DUBAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Spending on information technology (IT) fell 13 percent in Egypt last year after the fall of former president Hosni Mubarak and will be flat for 2012 as a political void stalls government investment in the sector, IDC said on Sunday.

The research firm said Egypt’s IT spending will be $2.13 billion in 2012, the third-highest level in the Middle East behind Saudi Arabia’s projected $6.98 billion expenditure and the United Arab Emirates’ $5.18 billion. The latter both have much smaller populations than the North African state.

Spending this year will be at 2011 levels, although down from a 2010 peak of $2.4 billion.

“There was a significant contraction in Egypt. We could potentially see a pick-up in the second half of 2012, but it all depends on the political situation,” Jyoti Lalchandani, an IDC regional vice-president, told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference.

“Despite any positive news on the political side, the market cannot recover in 2012, which will see almost flat IT spending. We’re down to the 2008, 2009 IT spending levels in Egypt.”

The IT slump mirrors a wider malaise which has seen Egypt’s economy forecast to grow 1.8 percent in the year to June 30.

That is far short of 6 percent-plus growth rate economists say Egypt needs to start creating enough jobs for its 80 million people, while tourist revenue and foreign investment has plunged following Mubarak’s exit and subsequent clashes against the ruling military council.

DUBAI, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Kuwait’s Wataniya on Wednesday reported a 57 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit as the telecoms operator included more consolidated earnings from its Tunisian unit.

Wataniya, majority-owned by Qatar Telecom (Qtel), made a net profit of 38.2 million dinars ($137.4 million) in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of 24.3 million dinars in the same period a year earlier.

In 2011, Wataniya raised its stake in its unit Tunisiana to 75 percent. This enabled Wataniya to consolidate 100 percent of Tunisiana’s revenue from the first-quarter of 2011 onwards, up from 50 percent, while it now includes three-quarters of Tunisiana’s profit, also up from 50 percent.

Wataniya said revenue was 186.4 million dinars in the fourth quarter, up from 138.7 million dinars a year earlier.

The firm, which has operations in Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Maldives and the Palestinian territories, said its consolidated customer base was 17.8 million at the end of 2011, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier.

The operator’s shares closed 1 percent lower on Kuwait’s bourse before the results were announced, trimming their 2012 gains to 3.1 percent. ($1 = 0.2780 Kuwaiti dinars)

(Editing by Firouz Sedarat)

DUBAI (Reuters) – Dubai Desert Classic champion Rafael Cabrera-Bello proved fortune can favour the brave when he ignored his caddie’s advice to play safe from the rough at the 16th hole and saved a precious stroke on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Spaniard went into the final round one shot behind overnight leader Lee Westwood.

Cabrera-Bello moved in front with birdies at 11 and 12 but world number three Westwood (birdie) and fellow Briton Stephen Gallacher (eagle) also picked up strokes at the par-five 13th, putting all three level on 17-under-par.

The 2009 Austrian Open champion, playing one hole ahead, shanked his tee shot at the 16th into the trees and his ball ended up in a sandy void.

“I saw the ball was lying quite good but then I tried to look towards the green and I couldn’t see it, it was all trees,” said Cabrera-Bello.

“Had that been two or three holes earlier I would have played differently but I knew if I dropped a shot it would give the guys behind more confidence.

“I was talking to my caddie and was telling him the branches didn’t look thick – if I didn’t hit it exactly where I wanted I could still get lucky and maybe try to save par,” added Cabrera-Bello.

DUBAI, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Rafael Cabrera-Bello was the surprise winner of the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday after sinking a nerveless birdie on the 17th hole to end on 18 under par and beat Lee Westwood and Scottish veteran Stephen Gallacher by a single shot.

The unfancied Spaniard, 27, had started the day one stroke behind overnight leader Westwood, but made three birdies on the back nine to clinch his second European Tour title, belying his lowly world ranking of 119.

Westwood had teed off last along with Gallacher, 37, while Cabrera-Bello was one hole ahead.

The amiable Spaniard, who had shot a blistering nine-under 63 in the opening round, retook the lead on the final day with successive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, but on the 13th Gallacher sank an eagle and Westwood a birdie to join him on 17 under.

The trio remained tied until Cabrera-Bello’s decisive putt on 17. One hole earlier, the Spaniard had scrambled for par after shanking his tee shot into the trees, his ball ending in the sandy void between the fairways, while Westwood would rue a missed birdie chance on 16th, his nine-foot effort stopping short.

CLUMSY CHIP

The world number three was also found wanting on the 17th, rolling a seven-foot birdie putt inches wide, while Cabrera-Bello was on the par-five 18th.

DUBAI (Reuters) – Lee Westwood was one shot ahead at the turn on the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday after sinking a 35-foot eagle to stay clear of the pack on 16 under.

The world number three started the day at 15 under, one shot clear of playing partners Marcel Siem and Stephen Gallacher, while U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, who had been leading at the halfway stage, started two off the pace.

Both Westwood and McIlroy had wanted tougher conditions to make the Majlis course bare its teeth following a birdie bonanza on a tranquil opening two days and the British duo got their wish on the final round as swirling gusts of up to 25 miles per hour buffeted the fairways.

Gallacher, 38, perhaps nervous at the prospect of winning only his second European Tour title, shanked his opening tee shot to the left of the fairway, eventually putting for a bogey to slip to 13 under.

The short par-four second hole provides one of the best chances for players to pick up shots on a tough front nine and

Westwood’s blistering tee shot ended 35 feet from the pin but short of the green.

He opted to putt rather than chip, rolling the ball in for an eagle to move 17 under for a two shot lead, while Gallacher dispatched a birdie to move back to 14 under and Siem also gained a shot.

DUBAI (Reuters) – Lee Westwood goes in to Sunday’s final round of the Dubai Desert Classic in bullish mood after surging from the pack to lead by a shot at 15 under.

Westwood, 38, has never won the Dubai event despite being a regular since his 1994 debut, but after shooting a third-round 67 on Saturday he vowed to put that right.

“I know how to play with the lead,” the world number three told reporters. “You get used to knowing what to do; when to press, when not to press, when to be patient.

“I’ve put a lot of preparation in, so I’m entitled to be confident really. My short game is getting a lot sharper and on the putting green it’s improving dramatically.

“So why not be confident? I’m seeing improvements in everything and my scoring is lower than it’s ever been, I’m shooting 60s and 64s and 62s around tough courses.”

Westwood started Dubai slowly but now has 10 birdies and just two bogeys in his last 21 holes, the Englishman thriving as blustery onshore winds blew his rivals off course.

U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy was one of those to struggle. The Ulsterman started the day as joint leader on 13 under, but could only shoot par for the round after finding the water on the seventh and missing the fairway from the tee on four of the opening nine holes.

DUBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Britain’s Lee Westwood took charge of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday, shooting 67 to move 15 under after the third round as former frontrunners Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn toiled under a searing sun.

Starting three shots behind, Westwood now leads McIlroy by two and Bjorn by three, while outsiders Marcel Siem, Stephen Gallacher and Rafael Cabrera-Bello are joint-second on 14 under.

Westwood, 38, had sunk birdies in the final three holes on Friday and the Englishman took his blistering form into the third round, picking up shots in three of the first four holes to move to 13 under.

The world number three’s charge then stalled as a birdie on the seventh sandwiched two bogeys, reaching the turn at 12 under.

The back nine of the Majlis course is more forgiving, with three par-fives and two short par-fours and Westwood made birdies at the 10th, 12th and 13th before shooting par for the remainder.

Westwood’s charge inspired his playing partners, Gallacher of Britain and Germany’s Siem, who each shot 68 to belie their lowly world rankings of 148 and 223 respectively.

DESERT TOIL