Setbacks that have checked progress in a huge market


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MUMBAI // Etisalat's Indian subsidiary has been facing a series of setbacks that are hindering the company's prospects in the world's second-fastest growing telecommunications market, analysts say.

Etisalat DB, a joint venture between Etisalat and India's Swan Telecom, is among nearly a dozen companies accused of sidestepping government rules in 2008 to buy second-generation phone licences at discounted prices, resulting in a revenue loss of 309.84 billion rupees (Dh25.6bn) for the treasury.

On Saturday, India's central bureau of investigation (CBI) formally charged the Swan Telecom directors Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, along with seven others. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

Etisalat, which owns a 45 per cent stake in Etisalat DB, has distanced itself from the situation. In February, the company said the licences were awarded before it entered the Swan partnership.

With an ambition to expand in India, which is home to more than 700 million mobile phone subscribers, Etisalat entered a deal to buy a stake in Swan Telecom in 2008.

That deal, the CBI claimed in an Indian court last week, violated foreign investment and foreign exchange rules. The government has not yet initiated legal proceedings.

In December, the telecoms ministry recovered US$2.2 million (Dh8m) from Etisalat DB because the company missed a deadline for rolling out 2G services in four zones.

The ministry imposed similar penalties on Aircel, Uninor and Dishnet.

Even after paying the fine last December, Etisalat DB was given a "show cause" notice last month concerning the cancellation of its licence for its Delhi and Mumbai areas of operations by India's telecoms department.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES

All matches at the Harare Sports Club:

1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets

2nd ODI, Friday, April 12

3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14

4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16

UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Where to apply

Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020

Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.

The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020. 

Third Test

Day 3, stumps

India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151

India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining

WandaVision

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany

Directed by: Matt Shakman

Rating: Four stars

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

THE SPECS

Engine: 3.6-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 285bhp

Torque: 353Nm

Price: TBA

On sale: Q2, 2020