When Gulf telecommunications giant Etisalat replaced its veteran chairman last week, he became the latest casualty of a multi-billion dollar foreign expansion which has failed to translate into profits and may prompt the firm to sell overseas assets to offset a decline in income.
Such a retreat would have been unthinkable just a few years ago when Etisalat ETEL.AD, the United Arab Emirates' largest listed company, conceived its publicly stated ambition to become one of the world's top 10 telecommunications firms.
But Mohammad Omran's exit suggests strategy changes may be on the cards. It also serves as a warning to cash-rich Gulf companies which could be tempted to snap up overseas assets as the global financial crisis makes them cheaper: Etisalat found buying assets easier than making them profitable.
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