Article at a glance:

Gulf telcos: Managing expansion better

• Telcos in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states boast some of the world’s highest average revenues per user and proportionally large market caps.
• Their success at home has provided ample cash and equity valuations for expansion, and their cultural affinity with neighboring regions has helped them make acquisitions that might have been riskier for Western telcos.
• In venturing beyond the Gulf, these telcos are taking on the unfamiliar role of “attacker.” In these markets, they must profitably serve customers who have much lower disposable incomes than their core subscribers do.
• To succeed, they’ll have to choose acquisitions wisely, establish better governance, become more meritocratic, and master the low-cost consumer market.