HiPipo Money

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It was such a colorful and marvelous evening that saw Swanair Travel and Safaris officially open its new and permanent offices on Thursday, 24th September 2015 in Bugolobi.

The company that has over 20 years of experience in travel and safaris dealing in booking flights to different destinations around the world, safaris, Hotel bookings and so much more.

Dr. Maggie Kigozi was the guest of honour and opened the new office facility on an evening that was graced by C.E.Os of Airline companies, top corporate officials and diplomats like Yoga Biragwa of South African Airways, Jackie Obado the CEO of Ostrich Travels and Christine Segawa from Public Service Commission.

“I attribute all the company success to the strong staff from when we started 20 years ago,” Eugenie Windt the CEO of Swanair said.

Eugenie made a journey full speech of the company from when it started and appreciated the private sector for the unending support from when Swanair Travel and Safaris started.

Maureen Rutabingwa the saxophonist from MoRoots band gave the event a touch of entertainment with her unique musical sounds.

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Barely 21 years of age since it was formed, MTN has joined an elite group of household brands such as Apple and Coca Cola after being voted the Brand of the Year in the telecommunications category at the World Branding Awards in London, United Kingdom.

MTN was one of over 2,500 brand nominated from 35 countries to be eligible for this much-sought after accolade. Only 119 brands were selected as the winners in their respective categories, and MTN emerged as the only brand in the telecommunications sector that qualified to receive this award.

Winners of the World Branding Awards are judged on three variables, namely brand valuation, consumer market research and public online voting.

“This prestigious accolade is testament to the work that has been done by our colleagues, employees and partners in building our brand,” says Larry Annetts, Sales and Marketing Executive: MTN South Africa.

This recognition to MTN follows the #1 Most Valuable Brand for 2015 accolade that was conferred to MTN by Brand Finance Plc, the world’s leading independent brand valuation and ratings firm, earlier this month.

“These awards are indicative of the milestones we are achieving in our quest to continue to create a distinct customer experience to our stakeholders,” Annetts concludes.

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MTN Uganda slashes calls to all networks by 45 percent

Customers to reap massive savings from MTN’s all-day, all-network 3/-  per-second flat rate for all local calls

MTN Uganda has announced a new tariff for their customers to call across all networks in Uganda. With the new rate, MTN customers will enjoy the lowest call rate across all mobile numbers, to all networks across the country. This new rate of Ush. 3/- per second takes effect immediately.

With this change, MTN has taken a bold step of reducing its call rates by 45.45 percent from Ushs. 5.5/- to Ushs. 3/-, at per second tariff rates. Existing customers simply have to dial *151*2# to enjoy this new call rate while new customers will enjoy the new rates immediately upon activation of their new SIM cards.  The rate has also been reduced from 300/- down to 180/-per minute for Postpaid customers.

Together with MTN’s attractive Voice Bundle offering, Ugandans can now enjoy the most affordable calls to anyone they want to call, as long as they are connected to the MTN network.

According to the Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Mapula Bodibe, the move is intended to offer customers more value, competitive rates and convenience.

“In a bid to offer even more value for our customers, MTN has taken the unprecedented decision this year to reduce the calling rates for Ugandans, at a time when most prices are escalating upwards,” she said.

“Customers are continually looking for value-adding offers to meet their needs for affordability. MTN understands its customers’ needs and is always looking at opportunities to offer competitively priced products and services to address their communication needs at the most affordable rates.   With this new offer, MTN customers will enjoy the lowest calling rates, to any local network and only pay for what they have used,” she added.

In addition, MTN will offer 7 minutes of free MTN to MTN calls for a 7 day period, for all new customers that activate a new MTN SIM card. This offer is aimed as a welcome offer for new customers joining MTN.

Facts about this new tariff(s)

·   3/- per second across all networks.

o   Existing customers, dial *151*2@ to activate the 3/- per second

o   The rate is automatically activated on new SIM cards for new customers

·   New SIM cards now come with;

o   3/- per second default tariff

o   7 minutes of free MTN to MTN calls

o   Free CallerTunez subscription

·   Per Minute and Postpaid rate now at 180/- per minute

“MTN customers can now enjoy better choice and affordability whilst connecting with friends and family, either with the MTN 3/- per second tariff plan, an affordable, simple, and easy to understand price plan that allows them to call for less, or MTN Zone per second, the perfect price plan for those looking for attractive discounts on their calls,” concludes Bodibe

To enjoy the new call rates on MTN, customers can dial *151*2# and select the 3/- per second tariff plan tariff plan. New customers wanting to enjoy the new call rates can simply buy a new Sim card and join MTN.

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Qalaa’s 1H15 Revenues climb 37.8% y-o-y with EBITDA recording a three-fold surge to EGP 565.1 million; ongoing restructuring efforts continue to reflect positively on its bottom line with 2Q15 losses narrowing 55% to EGP 84.7 million

Qalaa remains on track with the delivery of its FY15 strategy, marking significant milestones in its risk reduction, deleveraging and asset divestment programs

Qalaa Holdings (CCAP on the Egyptian Exchange, formerly Citadel Capital) released today its consolidated financial results for the quarter ending 30 June 2015, reporting revenues of US$ 26,6521,963 million, up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On a six months basis, revenues climbed 37.8% y-o-y in 1H15 to US$5billion. EBITDA meanwhile stood at US$72,153,765 million in the first half of 2015, a 169% increase over 1H14.

Revenue growth was driven by strong performance at TAQA Arabia’s fuel marketing arm, having recorded top-line y-o-y growth of 72% and 73% in 2Q15 and 1H15, respectively. In the cement division, ASEC Cement’s Sudan subsidiary Al-Takamol also made a strong contribution to Qalaa’s top-line growth, with the cement unit’s revenue recording 96% and 121% y-o-y growth in 2Q15 and 1H15, respectively. Together the energy and cement divisions contributed some 70% of total revenues in 2Q15.

On the restructuring front, the first six months of 2015 have also witnessed several developments, including ASEC Holding’s sale of its 27.5% stake in Misr Qena Cement, which resulted in a gain from sale of investment equivalent to US$ 8,556,287 million booked in 2Q15. Proceeds from the sale were utilized to fully deleverage at ASEC Cement and partially deleverage ASEC Holding, with the balance being distributed to shareholders.

“Our exit from Misr Qena is one of several developments taking place during 2015 that play into our risk reduction strategy and our ongoing deleveraging program,” said Ahmed Heikal, Chairman and Founder of Qalaa Holdings. “Qalaa’s ongoing restructuring efforts meanwhile continue to reflect positively on its financial performance, with significant improvements at the EBITDA level, in line with our previously announced guidance, and a continued narrowing of its bottom-line losses, which recorded a 53% y-o-y improvement in the first half of 2015,” Heikal added. 

The company reported a net loss after tax and minority interest of US$10,854,991million in the second quarter of 2015, a narrowing of 55% from 2Q14 figure of EGP 188.3 million. On a six months basis, bottom-line posted a loss of US$25,158,039million, a 53% improvement compared to 1H14 figure of US$ 53,636,427million. This improvement comes despite charges of US$13,153,695million in 1H15 related to discontinued operations. Of the US$13,153,695million, c.US$5,619,054million were booked in 2Q15 of which US$4,214,290million came from MENA Homes’ Designopolis, one of several assets earmarked for sale as part of the FHI transaction. It is worthy to note that interest and depreciation due to discontinued operations are non-cash items; management accordingly estimates that c. 95% of losses from discontinued operations are non-cash.

Management reiterates its strategy for 2015 with its underlining factors being the mitigation of financial risk by significantly deleveraging at the holding and platform company levels, and limiting operational risk through the divestment of non-core and non-essential assets while focusing resources on core business and ensuring they have the funding needed to deliver on growth plans.

“Qalaa has repeatedly stressed that deleveraging is one of the company’s key strategic goals for 2015 and onward,” said Qalaa Co-Founder and Managing Director Hisham El-Khazindar. “We remain on track with our divestment program,  proceeds from which will be utilized in reducing total consolidated debt from the current US$1billion excluding debt associated with Africa Railways and greenfield megaproject ERC — to around US$6.3 billion by the end of FY15.”

 “We have cut bank debt by c.US$ 46,612,609 million, as proceeds from our exit from Misr Qena were directed toward deleveraging at ASEC Cement; this will be reflected in our 3Q15 financials. Moreover, our agreement with FHI, which we expect to close by December 2015, will result in a further c.US$1billion reduction in Qalaa’s consolidated debt and further delivers on our strategy of reducing both financial and operational risk.” (Execution of the FHI transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent and customary termination rights.)

Key elements of Qalaa Holdings’ strategy in FY15 include:

·         Deleveraging at the holding and platform company levels

·         Acquisition of additional stakes in key platform companies

·         Selective investments within existing platform companies

·         Share Buybacks: Management is mindful of the opportunity to create value through share buybacks, and intends to use the proceeds from exits post deleveraging to acquire Qalaa shares for so long as these trade at a significant discount to their fair market value.

The aforementioned elements are to be financed through sale of assets where Qalaa is in advanced stages of divestments, including Misr Glass Manufacturing, Dina Farms Op Co, confectioner Rashidi El-Mizan, microfinance platform Tanmeyah, ASEC Cement’s operations in Algeria (Zahana Cement & Djelfa), and the Tebbin land held by Nile Logistics. The company reiterates its stance that further divestments will be executed if the need to do larger share buybacks arises.

Qalaa Holdings’ full business review for 2Q/1H 2015 and the financial statements on which it is based are now available for download on ir.qalaaholdings.com.

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Previous Qalaa Holdings press releases on this subject and others may be viewed online from your computer, tablet or mobile device at qalaaholdings.com/newsroom

Qalaa Holdings (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Stock Exchange) is an African leader in infrastructure and industry. Formerly known as Citadel Capital, Qalaa Holdings controls subsidiaries in core industries including Energy, Cement, Transportation & Logistics, and Mining. To learn more, please visit qalaaholdings.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this News Release that are not historical facts are based on current expectations, estimates, projections, opinions and beliefs of Qalaa Holdings. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and undue reliance should not be placed thereon. Certain information contained herein constitutes “targets” or “forward-looking statements,” which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “seek,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue” or “believe” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Actual events or results or the actual performance of Citadel Capital may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such targets or forward-looking statements. The performance of Qalaa Holdings is subject to risks and uncertainties.

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The world’s middle class is growing. According to Pew Research Center, 63 million people entered Latin America’s middle class over the last decade; it is estimated that Nigeria’s middle class grew by 600 percent between 2000 and 2014.

By 2030, EY expects two thirds of the global middle class to live in the Asia-Pacific region. As this portion of the population grows in size, it is becoming increasingly affluent, in turn creating a new group of consumers with higher purchasing power than ever before. This rapid expansion will not only create economic change, but drive demand for consumer goods, such as mobile devices, luxury brands, cars, and high-quality real estate.

Indonesia is leading Asia’s middle-class growth, with the number of people in the middle-income bracket expected to more than double in the next five years. Cities such as Jakarta are already experiencing the surge in middle class residents. The country’s growing middle class is flocking into the capital city, increasing need for residential and commercial properties, and demanding technological products, reliable Internet connectivity and online services.

Furthermore, as consumer demand grows, more jobs will be created in the emerging markets, to meet the needs of the growing populations. The economic improvements as a result of the emerging middle class will further drive developments in education and healthcare, leading to enhanced quality of life and growth prospects for these countries.

The middle classes in the emerging markets are much younger than their developed counterparts. These younger age groups are more focused on using technology, influencing spending habits by looking online to buy quality products and services. This young, affluent demographic is expected to drive the growth of the real estate sector in the emerging markets.

Earlier this year, Lamudi – an online real estate portal focused exclusively in the emerging markets – revealed that in the first five months of 2015, 60.3 percent of house-hunters in Pakistan were between the ages of 18 and 34; in Nigeria, the same age group made up 49.4 percent of house-hunters using the platform.

Kian Moini, co-founder and managing director of Lamudi, commented: “The shifting demographics within the emerging markets are very important, particularly when you look at the growing middle class in regions like Asia.

As people become more affluent, they also become better educated, more career-minded and therefore they have more purchasing power as they enter the property market. They buy houses earlier and more often, leading to increasing turnover and search volume. The importance of this trend cannot be underestimated, as it continues to support strong growth in the country’s property market.”

While each country in the emerging markets faces its own individual set of challenges and opportunities, the growth of the middle class is expected to push economic and social development; the benefits of this demographic growth will further drive opportunities in employment, technology, education, healthcare and entrepreneurship, significantly impacting the future growth of these markets.

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MultiChoice Uganda the country’s leading video entertainment provider, officially launched its new corporate headquarters and customer care center in Kololo, in a ceremony that doubled as their 20 anniversary celebration, officiated by the Prime Minister of Uganda Hon Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda.

The new HQ which was constructed over the last 12 months includes offices for key management staff, an expanded call center and an ultra-modern customer care office with dedicated parking for over 30 cars.  

Speaking at the anniversary celebration MultiChoice Uganda’s General Manager Charles Hamya stated, “This is a fantastic achievement and the culmination of twenty years of hard work, innovation and investment. Over the last 20 years MultiChoice has become the number one video entertainment provider in the country and the first to build a permanent home, combining a state of the art work place for our staff with a world class customer care environment for our subscribers”.

He added “our new Headquarters is a tangible demonstration of our long term commitment to the Ugandan market which began with our launch of Uganda’s first pay television service at a time when most experts claimed that the Ugandan television market was too small and not yet ready to handle quality pay television services. Today twenty years later as a result of our subscribers’ loyalty and support we have managed to prove the experts wrong, the Ugandan television industry has grown incredibly both in terms of numbers and reach.”   

The new MultiChoice customer center is a purpose built facility designed with the customer as the key focus. The main service hall which is manned by more than ten service agents is a lot more spacious and equipped with state of the art technology including self-help computerized touch points that will ensure long queues are a thing of the past. In addition it has a dedicated demo lounge area that allows one on one interaction with service agents. “This ensures that by the time a subscriber decides to purchase one of our products he or she is fully conversant with how the new technology works from day one,” Charles stated.

Giving a speech during the celebration the Regional Director MultiChoice East Africa Mr. Stephen Isaboke said “Opening this office is an exciting development for us as a regional hub because it marks the completion of the first phase of a strategic initiative started by the group that will see us open similar office facilities in each of the regional capitals. Our objective is to take our service delivery to the next level, consolidate our core services under one roof in each territory and make use of communications technologies to provide an increasingly personalized interface with our clients”.

He continued “this development will not only allow us to improve our operational efficiencies, it will also allow us to free up resources and focus our energies towards improving quality and extending the reach of our Digital Terrestrial Network”. He called for PPP’s to be used as a means of eliminating the rural urban digital divide and increase digital penetration.

Congratulating MultiChoice for achieving this milestone and responding to the Regional Director’s call, the Prime Minister congratulated MultiChoice for their longevity and commitment to the Ugandan Market. “Not many companies in Uganda celebrate this type of longevity because they often fail to see the big picture and are overtaken by events. MultiChoice is evidently not just an investor, but an innovator, and the perfect example of how International investors should partner with Ugandan entrepreneurs to produce a world class product, which we can genuinely call our own”.

Recounting the journey of the company over the last 20 years the Chairman of MultiChoice Uganda Mr. Steven Musoke said “from our humble beginnings on Bombo road, to Buganda road which most of you are familiar with, to this state of the art edifice next to me, MultiChoice as a company has always been pushing the technological and customer care boundaries in a bid to ensure our subscribers have the very best television experience possible at par with the very best in the world, this is the reason why MultiChoice is number one in Uganda and across the continent.