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)

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.

The high cost of licenses — the cheapest is $6,000 — could deter potential participants on the show.

“There’s a lot of talk about the cost of licenses, but anywhere else in the world, there’s something similar,” said on-screen judge Nisreen Shocair, president of Virgin Megastore in the Middle East. “It would be in the form of taxes or higher rents, so you will never be able to establish a business at zero cost.”

Applications will be whittled down to 10 finalists who will appear on the English-language reality show. The final four will be set a series of tasks over the last four episodes to show their marketing, retail and leadership skills and the viability of their business plan.

The winner will get 1 million dirhams and up to another 1 million dirhams in support services over the next year, including advertising, office space, telecoms services and mentoring. Second and third place finishers will also get business support help as consolation prizes. ($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirhams)

(Editing by Amran Abocar)

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.

About three-quarters of Etisalat’s revenue is derived
domestically, according to its third-quarter results, the most
recent revenue breakdown the company has disclosed.

Etisalat’s West African subsidiary Atlantique Telecom and
Egyptian unit Etisalat Misr each achieved a 40 percent rise in
subscriber numbers last year, group chief executive Ahmad
Abdulkarim Julfar said in Monday’s statement.

Etisalat had a net cash balance of 3.3 billion dirhams at
the end of 2011.

($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirhams)

(Editing by David Hulmes)

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.

In Egypt, major IT spending has typically been in the
government and financial services sectors which account for 40
percent of total expenditures, Lalchandani said.

“With the developments politically, there are no decision
makers making decisions on IT,” he said. “As a result, the
public sector spend on IT has reduced dramatically in the last
couple of years.

“On the banking side, there’s a lot more caution given it
has been a challenge attracting investments. With these two key
sectors out of the way, there’s simply no way the Egyptian
market can recover and come back.”

Across the Middle East, about 20 percent of IT spending is
consumer, with the remainder from the public and private sector.

(Editing by David Cowell)

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)

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.

“But he told me, ‘No, just play left’. I looked at it again. The ball was sitting up so good. I said, ‘Okay, I know this is a very risky shot but don’t worry it’s my ball and I’m just going to go for it’.”

The gamble paid off as Cabrera-Bello landed just short of the green and he scrambled his par.

He then rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt at the 17th and a closing 68 for an 18-under total of 270 earned a one-stroke win over Westwood and Gallacher.

“I tried to be calm,” said Cabrera-Bello after notching his second European Tour win. “There were different emotions, from nervous to pressure to chill, but overall I was really enjoying it.

“Competing at golf is my biggest thrill. I’m happy I was able to stick to my plan, to play bold.”

The Spaniard made a par five at the long 18th and could only look on as Westwood and Gallacher failed to produce a closing birdie that would have forced a playoff.

“I was just waiting. I didn’t want to wish anyone wrong but I was thinking if they missed their birdie putts it would be really convenient,” added the smiling Cabrera-Bello.

His victory earned a cheque for $416,200, a tour exemption until the end of 2014 and a rise in the world rankings from 119th to around 60th.

“This win … opens the door to better tournaments and to playing with the top players of the world more often,” said Cabrera-Bello.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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.

His final tee shot missed the fairway, but he reached the
green edge for three and eventually putted for par.

That meant Westwood, 38, and Gallacher needed to make
birdies on the final hole to force a play-off. Westwood’s second
shot left him just off the green, but he then played a clumsy
chip that stopped 20 feet from the pin.

Now needing to putt to stay in the tournament, the
Englishman’s final effort drifted left, while Gallacher fluffed
a 12-foot birdie chance, handing Cabrera-Bello the title.

He became the third Spaniard in a row to hold the title
after Miguel Jimenez and Alvaro Quiros had triumphed in 2010 and
2011.

Westwood had started the day on 15 under, one shot ahead,
while Ulsterman Rory McIlroy and Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who
sandwich him in the world rankings, were two strokes behind.

The two Britons had wanted tougher conditions to make the
Majlis course bare its teeth following a birdie bonanza on the
tranquil opening two days and they got their wish on the final
round as swirling gusts of wind buffeted the fairways.

That made for a tougher day around the 7,344-yard course and
the leaderboard saw little movement as the final round
progressed.

Westwood rolled in a 35-foot eagle putt from the fairway on
the second hole, but bogeyed the fifth after fading his tee shot
into the rough to go into the back nine one shot ahead.

McIlroy, the leader after two rounds, was three over for the
day after the front nine, picking up four birdies on the final
nine holes to end on 14 under in joint fifth.

Kaymer struggled, shooting two over for the day to slip off
the leaderboard.

(Editing by Clare Fallon. To comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com; )

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.

Westwood made his first mistake on the fifth tee, fading his drive into the rough to the right of the fairway and from there he again found the rough, this time five yards from the green.

His subsequent chip ended seven-feet from the hole for a tricky shot for par and he was found wanting, rolling his effort wide to eventually make a bogey and slip back to 16 under.

Siem landed his tee shot just off the green within nine feet of the flag on the tricky par-three seventh, made more treacherous by a gusting cross-wind across the lake, but the pony-tailed German fluffed his birdie chance and holed for par.

Westward was wayward, landing at the bottom of a steep bank of rough some way from the pin. He played a low chip that ended four feet away and holed on the next shot to escape with a par.

Gallacher missed a 16-foot putt, making bogey to slip back to 14 under, two off the pace.

Siem sunk a birdie on the eighth to join Westwood on 16 under, but his joy was short-lived as he then bogeyed the next hole to slip a shot behind.

Rafael Carrera-Bello, playing a hole ahead of the lead trio, was one under for the front nine to be 15 under, the Spaniard steadily building on his blistering opening round of 63.

McIlroy struggled, shooting a bogey on the first hole after skewing an 8-foot par shot wide and the Ulsterman then sunk a double bogey on the ninth to slip back to 10 under.

(Reporting by Matt Smith, editing by Alan Baldwin)

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.

“It was pretty ragged to say the least,” said the world number two.

“I think the conditions were a little tougher, the wind got up, and I hadn’t really played in wind like that all week, so that put me off a little bit and the greens got a little firmer.

“The pin positions were a little tougher, and it didn’t come as easy to me as it did the first couple of days.”

McIlroy said he would go to the driving range to try and improve on his alignment and ball position ahead of Sunday’s deciding round and also hoped the wind stiffen.

“It means that the guys in front of me, unless someone plays really, really well, can’t really get away from me,” he added.

Sandwiched between McIlroy and Westwood on 14 under are the unlikely trio of Marcel Siem, Stephen Gallacher and Rafael Cabrera-Bello, whose combined world rankings add up to 490.

Britain’s Gallacher was struck down with a debilitating viral infection in 2009 that left him unable to pick up a club for four months and sent him tumbling down the rankings.

The Scot, a nephew of former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher, has since battled back and will now join Westwood in Sunday’s leading trio.

“It feels great – all you can ask is to be in with a chance in the last round, there’s still a lot of golf to go,” Gallacher told reporters. “I knew I was going to come back, it was just a case of how long.”

(Editing by Alison Wildey)

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

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy and Dane Bjorn started the day 13
under after rattling in a succession of birdies in near-perfect
conditions on the first two rounds.

Saturday was a different story, however, as offshore gusts
buffeted the fairways and temperatures topped 30 degrees
Celsius, making it tough for the leading pair as they teed off
under the midday sun.

By the turn, Bjorn, 40, was one under for the round and one
ahead of Westwood, having squandered a two-foot birdie chance on
the ninth green, while McIlroy was on par.

It could have been worse for the 22-year-old Ulsterman.
Normally so strong on his long game, the world number two missed
the fairway from the tee on four of the opening nine holes, most
calamitously on the seventh when his drive cleared the lake but
then rolled back into the water for a penalty shot.

He made partial amends, staying calm to sink a 20-foot putt
down the slope to escape with a bogey.

But Bjorn, who himself had bogeyed the fifth, took full
advantage, tapping in a five-foot birdie putt for a two-shot
swing to reclaim the lead.

McIlroy’s solitary birdie of the opening nine came on the
second hole, sinking a 10-foot putt on the short par four and
all the while Westwood was gaining ground.

Bjorn’s miss on the ninth jolted the Dane, who shot bogeys
on three of the closing four holes, finding the water on the
last, to end three shots off Westwood.

McIlroy fared little better and was the only player in the
top eight to fail to birdie the par-five 10th, missing the
fairway with his tee shot and then skewing into the bunker to
eventually putt for a bogey.

He then picked up birdies in two of the next three holes,
but the demons returned on the 14th and 16th as he shot four
bogeys in 10 holes.

(Editing by Alison Wildey)