CAIRO: Egyptian authorities said Monday they had fined the national branch of mobile phone giant Vodafone 500,000 euros over a coverage outage last week just ahead of the Eid Al-Fitr holiday.
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said it made the “unprecedented” move after services dropped “for several hours, in multiple regions” on June 3 just before the holiday which marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.
Vodafone is the leading provider in Egypt, according to official figures, servicing 40 million of the country’s more than 100 million mobile phone lines.
It is positioned ahead of three other national operators: Orange, Etisalat and We.
NTRA also stressed “the need to compensate subscribers affected by this interruption.”
Many Vodafone Egypt users have taken to social media to voice their dissatisfaction.
The company on Thursday sent a text message to users apologizing for “the network’s performance” and offering up free Internet packages as compensation.
Vodafone Egypt fined 500,000 euros for coverage outage
Vodafone Egypt fined 500,000 euros for coverage outage
Saudi stock market opens its doors to foreign investors
RIYADH: Foreigners will be able to invest directly in Saudi Arabia’s stock market from Feb. 1, the Kingdom’s Capital Market Authority has announced.
The CMA’s board has approved a regulatory change which will mean the capital market, across all its segments, will be accessible to investors from around the world for direct participation.
According to a statement, the approved amendments aim to expand and diversify the base of those permitted to invest in the Main Market, thereby supporting investment inflows and enhancing market liquidity.
International investors' ownership in the capital market exceeded SR590 billion ($157.32 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2025, while international investments in the main market reached approximately SR519 billion during the same period — an annual rise of 4 percent.
“The approved amendments eliminated the concept of the Qualified Foreign Investor in the Main Market, thereby allowing all categories of foreign investors to access the market without the need to meet qualification requirements,” said the CMA, adding: “It also eliminated the regulatory framework governing swap agreements, which were used as an option to enable non-resident foreign investors to obtain economic benefits only from listed securities, and the allowance of direct investment in shares listed on the Main Market.”
In July, the CMA approved measures to simplify the procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for certain categories of investors. These included natural foreign investors residing in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as those who had previously resided in the Kingdom or in any GCC country.
This step represented an interim phase leading up to the decision announced today, with the aim of increasing confidence among participants in the Main Market and supporting the local economy.
Saudi Arabia, which is more than halfway through an economic plan to reduce its dependence on oil, has been trying to attract foreign investors, including by establishing exchange-traded funds with Asian partners in Japan and Hong Kong.
