Tecom in talks with Dell over joint venture

JOINT VENTURE: Tecom is in the early stages of discussions with Dell about forming a joint venture, Al-Mulla said. (Getty Images)

Dubai-owned Tecom Investments is in preliminary talks on a joint venture with Dell and says it expects to make up to three acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa this year, including a mobile phone firm.

At least one of the purchases is likely to be in the UAE, Abdullatif Al-Mulla, chief executive of Tecom Investments, said in an interview in Sharm El-Sheikh ahead of a World Economic Forum (WEF) conference.

Tecom owns stakes in mobile phone operators in Tunisia and Malta, as well as in the UAE's Du telecom. The company also operates business parks in the region.

"We want to expand in the services business," Al-Mulla said. "We want to address bigger targets and complement our business."

Tecom has been in contact with Dell, the world's second-largest personal computer maker, about a possible joint venture, Al-Mulla said, declining to be more specific about Tecom's plans.

"We've had very rough discussions with them," Al-Mulla said of Dell. "We want to see what they want to put on the table."

Last month, Dell's chief executive said the company expected to boost profits as it moves resources to faster-growing emerging market regions.

Michael Dell projected that by 2011 half the units sold in the industry would be in emerging countries as more than 500 million new businesses would be created.

Much of the company's growth last year was from outside the US, in areas such as the Middle East and China, where unit sales were growing between 54 and 70% a year. (Reuters)

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM