Etisalat, the UAE’s biggest telecoms operator by market capitalisation, plans to buy back 7.5 billion dirhams worth of shares from the market. The company's share price climbed following the announcement on Tuesday.
The board of Emirates Telecommunications Group, or Etisalat, has given a nod to “circulation share buy-back programme,” through which it intends to purchase up to 5 per cent of the firm’s paid-up capital, or 434.8 million shares, the telecommunications company said in a regulatory filing to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded. The decision to buy back stocks is subject to the approval of the UAE’s capital markets regulator, Securities and Commodities Authority, and the company's shareholders who are scheduled to meet on March 21, it said.
Etisalat may cancel or resell the bought back stocks, it said without giving further details on the term of the planned transaction. The company has a market capitalisation of 151bn, and based on Monday’s closing share price, the 5 per cent buyback will be valued at 7.5bn.
_______________
Read more:
Etisalat launches new calling app plan days after Skype disruptions
5G debuts at Winter Olympics as boar repellent
Du parent reports second straight quarterly profit rise
_______________
"Buying back shares is a way of rewarding sharesholders by pushing the share prices up and that’s a positive," said Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, the head of research at FAB Securities. "They [Etisalat] have been hinting at it for some time and now it is concrete. They have put down maximum of 5 per cent [of buyback] but market will be eagerly waiting for the price range [for the planned deal]."
The company’s shares rose as much as 4.1 per cent, the most in more than a year. It was the top stock in terms of traded value, ending the day 2.6 per cent higher at Dh17.75 a share. Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index fell 1.9 per cent.
Etisalat competes with Dubai-based du in the domestic market and has lost some ground to the incumbent in the recent years. Last month, Abu Dhabi-headquartered Etisalat reported Dh8.4bn in full-year 2017 net profit attributable to shareholders, a 0.3 per cent increase on the previous year. Its fourth-quarter net income, however fell 12 per cent to Dh2bn, according to calculations made by Reuters, in the absence of a quarterly breakdown.
The company, which last year deployed pre-commercial 5G network in certain locations in UAE, also said its subscriber base in the domestic market grew to 12.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 3 per cent increase from the same period in 2016. The company operates in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
The five pillars of Islam
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Getting%20there%20
%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Ftravel%2F2023%2F01%2F12%2Fwhat-does-it-take-to-be-cabin-crew-at-one-of-the-worlds-best-airlines-in-2023%2F%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EEtihad%20Airways%20%3C%2Fa%3Eflies%20daily%20to%20the%20Maldives%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%20The%20journey%20takes%20four%20hours%20and%20return%20fares%20start%20from%20Dh3%2C995.%20Opt%20for%20the%203am%20flight%20and%20you%E2%80%99ll%20land%20at%206am%2C%20giving%20you%20the%20entire%20day%20to%20adjust%20to%20island%20time.%20%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERound%20trip%20speedboat%20transfers%20to%20the%20resort%20are%20bookable%20via%20Anantara%20and%20cost%20%24265%20per%20person.%20%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More coverage from the Future Forum
'Project Power'
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rating: 3.5/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
