Ericsson remains bullish on Iraq despite Daesh threat

[TrinityeXchange]

 

Ericsson remains bullish on Iraq despite Daesh threat

 

Company continues to collaborate with all three telecom operators in country including a network management contract with Zain

By Alexander Cornwell, Staff ReporterPublished: 18:07 October 13, 2014Gulf News

 

Dubai: Ericsson remains bullish on Iraq despite large swathes of the country being under the control of terrorist group Daesh, a company executive said on Monday.

“Iraq is one of the more important markets for Ericsson in the Middle East,” said Tarek Saadi, President of Ericsson, North Middle East Region, in an interview on the sidelines of Gitex Technology Week.

 

Ericsson works with all three operators in Iraq including a network management contract with Zain. The company says it operations have not been largely affected by the increasing instability in the country, which has seen the United States lead military strikes against Daesh.

 

Daesh caught security forces by surprise when it took large parts of north western Iraq in August. However, the group has so far been held back by US strikes and Iraqi and Kurdish forces from taking Arbil in Kurdistan and Baghdad. Basra, the oil-rich city in the south, has also so far been safe from the violence,

 

Saadi said the Ericsson drew up contingency plans following August’s surprise attack by Daesh but that since the US-led strikes it has been “busy as usual.”

However, if more Iraqi controlled areas were to fall to Daesh and the Zain network was threatened, Saadi said there is a plan to operate the network from Arbil, which is protected by Kurdistan’s Peshmerga forces.

 

“We still believe in the long terms prospects of the country,” Saadi said while admitting that his “very bullish” outlook for the country had been moderated.

“We believe 3G [will] be a long term revenue driver to the operators and to Ericsson,” he said.

 

Ericsson is continuing talks to increase its services in Iraq, despite the ongoing instability, including expanding its business with operators and discussions with private sector companies looking to outsource some of their IT services.

 

Saadi declined to state how much the company is investing in Iraq over the next but maintained that resources will not be shifted out of Iraq.

[moneysoon]

Thanks TX,

 

The resources are there and are a main indicator that it is going to happen. A stable economy will bring all that we are looking to see happen to our investments.

[TrinityeXchange]

amen money!  paramount news today toward the stability of iraq with the completing of the government of iraq.  i am expecting to see the market respond in kind to this announcement as well as the new nasdaq platform brought online.  i am so glad The Lord helped us into this investment.  i've never participated in anything financially on this scale in my entire life.  

[moneysoon]

GOD IS GOOD! I We are in good position to take a little and feed the masses.