CAIRO: Sony Ericsson is bullish on the Egyptian market where it sees ample opportunities for growth and revenues said Elie Otaki, Sony Ericsson's marketing and communications manager for the Middle East and Northern Africa region. "The Egyptian [telecommunications] market is dynamic and strategic for our operations, he said in a press conference on Sunday announcing the company's latest technology. "Its vigorous growth is not [replicated elsewhere in the region]. Recent statistics shows that the size of the Egyptian telecommunication market jumped 70 percent to reach 26.9 million subscribers at the end of September 2007, up from 15.87 million the previous year. In 2007, MobiNil and Vodafone Egypt posted their highest net additions of subscribers since the launch of Etisalat Egypt, with Vodafone Egypt claiming 1.32 million in the second quarter of 2007 and MobiNil 1.82 million in the third quarter. The newest player in the market, Etisalat Egypt captured 0.7 million customers in the third quarter of 2007 to reach a total of 1.30 million, compared to a total of 11.70 million for market rival Vodafone Egypt and 13.72 million for MobiNil. Sony Ericsson currently ranks as the third mobile company in Egypt, and, in a bid to improve its ranking, the company inaugurated its first sales and marketing office in Egypt earlier this month. "This office marks our first physical presence in Egypt, where we hired a team of sales and marketing [representatives], explained Otaki, adding that the mobile company now has three dealers in Egypt. Otaki's revealed the company's latest mobile technology, which features four new models tailor-made for emerging markets such as Egypt. The latest additions combine technology that suits both entry-level and professional users. The company announced the new phones would be sold on the Egyptian market between the first and second quarters of 2008 at affordable prices set to appeal to low-end users. "With today's announcement, our portfolio is complete, with phones targeting all segments of society: low-end, medium-end and high-end, he pointed out. "In the past, Sony Ericsson focused only on medium and high-end segments. Now, we focus on the low-end segment to grab a bigger share of the market. "We are keen on being present in emerging markets such as Egypt that rely [for its growth] on entry-level and low-end segments. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications was established as a 50-50 joint venture between Sony and Ericsson in October 2001, with global corporate functions located in London. The company has research and development sites in Europe, Japan, China, India and America. In 2007, the company's global market share reached nine percent, with expectations to reach ten percent this year. "We already rank number two mobile company in countries in the MENA region, namely in the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iran. In 2007, the company sold around 1.1 billion mobile phones - more than double its market growth rate - with sales totaling ?1.3 million euros in 2007 alone.
