Page 68 - SAMENA Trends - March 2020

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

TRA Publishes List of 22 Online The Telecommunications the Ministry of Economy. The
Authority,
Regulatory
results of a survey carried out
TRA,
Grocery Apps in UAE announced 'Online Grocery' by the Department of Economic
that includes the purchasing Development in Dubai last
application of 22 online stores year showed that 66 percent
in the UAE, noting that this is of its participants trust online
a preliminary list and will be shopping while 70 percent trust
subject to updates in the coming online payments. The UAE is
days. The online stores included classified as one of the leading
in the list include large shopping countries in terms of having
centers and cooperatives, in developed communications and
addition to grocery stores, meat digital services infrastructure,
and vegetable shops, and other and the majority of its official
services. The start of the current and private institutions are
year has seen solid activity adopting solutions to provide
in the online shopping sector, services based on technological
indicating a high demand from solutions, whether through
consumers to shop on the smartphones or social media.
internet. This growth in online Online food and beverage sales
consumption is expected to in the UAE recorded a cumulative
surge in the coming months, annual growth of 21 percent
which will raise the value from 2015 to 2018, according
of online commerce to over to data prepared by Wilson,
US$19.77 million in 2020, as the strategic market research
per several specialist studies, company, which gathers and
including a report issued by analyses sales data.

Pakistan’s Telecoms Sector Generates US$3.34 Billion in Revenues for
FY2019

Pakistan’s telecoms sector accrued penetration rate of 76.4 per cent. The 5G trials, with a commercial launch
revenues of 552 billion rupees ($3.34 country is served by four large mobile expected by mid-2021. Recently, Telenor
billion) last year, according to new figures network operators, namely Jazz, Telenor Pakistan’s CEO, Ifran Wahab Khan, said
released by the country’s regulatory Pakistan, UFone and Zong. Of these that operators in the country must look
body. The Pakistan Telecommunications four, Jazz is the largest, with 59 million to collaborate on 5G, sharing the financial
Authority released its annual report this subscribers, followed by Telenor Pakistan burden through a series of network sharing
week, showing that the telecoms sector with 46 million, Ufone with 23.1 million agreements. “The world is moving ahead
contributed around 96 billion rupees and Zong 15.6 million. The country is and the telecoms companies were sharing
($581 million) to the economy in taxation also served by a number of mobile virtual far more things but in Pakistan we are
revenues. With around 163 million mobile network operators. All four major mobile all still investing in basic structures, like
subscribers, Pakistan now has a mobile network operators have now undertaken towers,” he said.

MTN Group Says Iran Investment Continues Despite Sanctions

South Africa’s MTN Group says it is still the sanctions, it says it is able to convert quoted by Bloomberg as saying: ‘This has
pushing for sales growth at its 49%-owned earnings to loans to MTN Irancell, which placed MTN Irancell in a position where
subsidiary in Iran, MTN Irancell, despite the is allowing Iran’s second largest mobile it has enough cash to continue funding
effect of US economic and trade sanctions. operator to continue investment in its its network expansion, even during these
While the group has admitted having fixed and wireless networks. The Group’s tough times’.
difficulty taking money out of Iran due to Chief Financial Officer Ralph Mupita is

68 MARCH 2020