Davos 2024: UAE’s E& Sees its European Investments (Vodafone, PPF) Paying Off - Bloomberg
Hatem Dowidar, the chief executive officer of Emirati telecommunications company e&, said his investments in European carriers will start to pay off in the coming years as interest rates fall.
Dowidar — whose company has increased its stake in Vodafone Group Plc and has agreed to acquire Eastern European carrier PPF Telecom Group BV — said that while the industry in Europe has been hit hard by inflation and dividend commitments, he sees the market rebounding.
“Interest rates will not remain high forever,” Dowidar said in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday. “We believe that Europe will see growth again in the coming years.”
The European stocks also provide diversification compared to the company’s investments linked to “volatile” emerging market currencies in Egypt and Pakistan, he said. Dowidar said he may increase his stake in Vodafone, where the Abu Dhabi-based company is already the biggest shareholder, but will remain a minority holder.
Meanwhile, Dowidar said the company is “still open for investment generally” including in the Middle East, Africa and West Asia, though the Saudi market is “closed for now.”
In December, Dowidar’s company ended talks for a controlling stake in Saudi Arabia’s Mobily.
“Given the market there and the price of oil having escalated, I think we continue to be the biggest shareholder, but I think at the moment we have frozen the idea to get the majority,” Dowidar said.
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