Etisalat Chairman, Mohammad Omran, Addresses Forbes Global CEO Conference in Australia

Etisalat’s chairman, Mohammad Omran, today predicted a new wave of mergers and acquisitions in the telecoms sector particularly in areas related to the provision of advanced services for consumers and developing vertical expertise in ICT provision for enterprises. He made his forecast at the 10th annual Forbes Global CEO Conference which this year takes place in Sydney, Australia with an audience of approximately 400 delegates.

Mr Omran was participating in a panel discussion entitled “Broadening horizons with technology” and made his remarks in response to questions related to the state of the telecoms industry in the current economic climate.

“The telecoms industry was last and least affected by the economic crash of 2008,” Mohammad Omran, Chairman of Etisalat explained. “Although global GDP and IT spending saw a dip in 2008-09, telecom company revenues continued to grow. This is because telecoms services have joined the bundle of critical services and have some resistance to recessionary pressures.”

Etisalat today manages operators in 18 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia and has a footprint that covers two billion people. Its customer base today exceeds 107 million including mobile, fixed line, cable TV and Internet subscribers.

The Forbes Global CEO Conference took place under the theme “Full Sail Ahead” and expert panel sessions examined how CEOs are thriving on adversity and identifying opportunities in sectors such as energy and commodities, technology and innovation, healthcare, money and investment, as well as media and entertainment.

For further information, please visit www.etisalat.ae.