A quick rollout of mobile telephone services in Iraq looks increasingly unlikely as the Pentagon probes alleged corruption in the awarding of licences, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported.
Iraq's ministry of communications had stressed the systems must be operational within two months when contracts were signed with three consortiums on Oct. 6.
Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding, Kuwait's National Mobile Telecommunications (AsiaCell) and Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Company (AtheerTel) were even put into a race where the first to establish a system in its designated area would then be able to start competing in the other two regions.
However, predictions that Iraq would have a mobile network in place by the end of the year "are looking increasingly unlikely, because the signing of the contracts has been delayed by a Pentagon investigation into allegations of corruption in the license awards," the newsletter says.
The Financial Times reported last week that two Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) officials and interim Telecommunications Minister Haidar al-Abbadi, were under investigations over allegations of bribery regarding the Orascom contract.
Orascom and partners deny paying any bribes as does Abbadi.
The industry newsletter quoted one of the unsuccessful bidders as saying: "There are just too many accusations flying around about special interest groups and individuals with certain connections. They will have to investigate the whole procedure even if it is just to show there is no impropriety.
MEES says: "The current inquiry, which is in a preliminary stage, is apparently being conducted by the Pentagon Inspector General's Office following claims that the contracts were awarded on the basis of political connections rather than on technical merit."
"As soon as the awards were made they sparked controversy with many alleging that the procedure was not sufficiently transparent and favored special interest groups particularly from within the current ruling circles in Iraq," adds the Cyprus-based newsletter.
Orascom has been chosen for the central region which includes Baghdad, AsiaCell for the north, and AtheerTel for the south.
Last week, Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co said its southern network has been delayed for security reasons, but insisted the project will go ahead.
Until the new systems are up and running, Iraq remains the only country in the Middle East and North Africa not to have a mobile network.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
HEADWINDS: Upfront investment is unavoidable in the merger, but cost savings would materialize over time, TS Financial Holding Co president Welch Lin said TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) said it would take about two years before the benefits of its merger with Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) become evident, as the group prioritizes the consolidation of its major subsidiaries. “The group’s priority is to complete the consolidation of different subsidiaries,” Welch Lin (林維俊), president of the nation’s fourth-largest financial conglomerate by assets, told reporters during its first earnings briefing since the merger took effect on July 24. The asset management units are scheduled to merge in November, followed by life insurance in January next year and securities operations in April, Lin said. Banking integration,
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
RSS