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Orascom gets UN exemption to operate North Korean cellular network
Egypt’s Orascom Investment Holding has received an exemption from the United Nations to continue operating Koryolink, its North Korean cellular network, it said Monday. The ability of Orascom to continue as a partner in the network has been in doubt since U.N. Security Council sanctions last year banned foreign companies from establishing or running commercial…
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Orascom has ‘lost control’ of Koryolink
Orascom Telecom and Media Technology (OTMT) says it has effectively lost control of Cheo Technology, the North Korean joint venture cellular operator that uses the Koryolink brand-name and has around 3 million subscribers. The dramatic statement was contained in the company’s latest financial report, which also said that OTMT would no longer be treated as a…
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Orascom tackles its North Korean cash problem
The Egyptian company that runs North Korea’s sole cellular network appears to be finally confronting one of its biggest problems in North Korea: the value of its money there. Egypt’s Orascom Telecom and Media Technology (OTMT) said on Tuesday that it is delaying the filing of its latest quarterly financial report while it attempts to…
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Smartphone imports from China said to have hit record in 2014
Imports of smartphones from China into North Korea hit a record in 2014, according to a report by Yonhap News. The South Korean news agency said North Korea bought smartphones worth US$82.8 million from China last year, according to figures from the Seoul-based Korea International Trade Association (KITA). That’s almost double the 2013 number and in…
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Sawiris takes charge of Koryolink parent
Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris has taken over as CEO of the parent company of Cheo Technology, which runs North Korea’s Koryolink 3G cellular telephone network. Sawiris assumed the top job at Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) after the former CEO, Ahmed Abou Doma, stepped down for personal reasons. He had been CEO for less than a…
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Koryolink subscriptions hit 2.4 million
Subscriptions to Koryolink, North Korea’s only 3G mobile phone network, have just passed the 2.4 million mark, according to the latest figures from the operator. The figure represents a significant slowdown in growth in the last year over the previous year and points to the first big spurt in subscriptions being over. The carrier might have…
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Inside North Korea’s cell phone use
North Koreans used cell phone messaging to independently organize a soccer group, surprising authorities, according to a new report on cell phone usage in the country. The soccer club was apparently organized by a group at Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang, and could be one of the reasons that pushed authorities to launch a…
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Orascom has $422 million in cash in North Korea
Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT), the Egyptian company that owns a 75 percent stake in North Korea’s on 3G cellular network operator, has apparently been doing very well in the North Korean market. A recent audit report by Deloitte says the company’s assets in North Korea stand at US2 million, of which 2 million…
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Koryolink hits 2 million subscribers
North Korea’s Koryolink cellular network has hit the 2 million subscriber mark, majority owner Orascom Telecom said this week. The landmark was reached in late May, 15 months after it surpassed the million subscriber mark. Koryolink launched its 3G cellular service in the final days of December 2008 and in the last four years has…
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Koryolink nears 2 million subscribers
Koryolink, North Korea’s sole 3G cellular service provider, is close to hitting the 2 million subscriber mark. The news was disclosed this week by the Koryolink CEO Ezz Heikal in Pyongyang and later confirmed by the company’s head office in Cairo. It means that Koryolink will have roughly doubled its subscriber base in the last 15 months.…
