adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

News

Deutsche Telekom seeks investors to bankroll German internet overhaul

Published

 on

Deutsche Telekom is offering investors stakes in a company it is creating to overhaul Germany’s internet cables to help foot the bill for much-needed network modernisation, three people familiar with the matter said.

The deal is part of a German bid to catch up with other European countries such as Spain, which has outpaced Europe’s industrial powerhouse by laying high-tech glass fibre cables while Germany is mainly stuck with old-fashioned copper lines.

Deutsche Telekom, Germany’s main telecoms company, has come under increasing pressure to act quickly as the coronavirus pandemic has forced more people to work from home and rely on fast, stable internet connections.

The sources told Reuters that Deutsche Telecom and its adviser Deutsche Bank are targeting investors such as Dutch funds APG and PGGM and Canada‘s Brookfield and CDPQ, as well as sovereign wealth funds.

300x250x1

Deutsche Telekom’s initial plan is to roll out fibre cables to 4 million households and investors will be offered stakes equivalent to up to half of the project’s equity, the sources said. Further extensions of the network are likely.

The German company is following the strategy adopted by rivals, such as Spain’s Telefonica, which have struck similar deals with investors to help pay for network upgrades.

Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank and the prospective bidders all declined to comment.

At the same time, the German telecoms giant is kicking off the sale of its T-Mobile Netherlands business to cut its debt and free up cash for investment in infrastructure.

FOREIGN INVESTORS

Deutsche Telekom is a laggard when it comes to fibre as it bet on improved copper cables to supply internet connections and only switched to focusing on faster fibre cables in 2019.

Its move is part of a trend among German companies of turning to foreign investors to fund parts of the infrastructure that keeps the wheels of industry whirring, such as energy.

Power network 50Hertz, for example, is now majority owned by Belgium’s Elia while gas-power firm Open Grid Europe is part-owned by Australian investor Macquarie.

Investment by China, however, is viewed sceptically. When China’s State Grid wanted to take a stake in 50Hertz in 2018, German state lender KfW prevented the move.

Fibre networks are typically financed with 30% equity and 70% debt and Deutsche Telekom is looking for investors to contribute half of the equity with it providing the rest.

Telefonica struck a deal in October 2020 with German insurer Allianz to develop a fibre optic network in Germany for 2.2 million households in a project valued at 5 billion euros ($6.1 billion).

Assuming a similar valuation, Deutsche Telekom’s project to supply about 4 million households would be worth some 10 billion euros, meaning investors would need to contribute 1.5 billion euros, or half of the 30% equity.

At its capital markets day in May, Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Tim Hoettges underlined the company’s commitment to accelerating the rollout of fibre in Germany, taking it from 600,000 households last year to 2.5 million in 2024.

He said the company plans to invest 2.5 billion euros a year in fibre infrastructure.

DUTCH MOBILE SALE

Deutsche Telekom’s plan would still leave it trailing countries such as Spain and Sweden, where more than 60% of homes already get their internet via fibre cables. In Germany, only 5% of homes have fibre, slightly lower than Italy.

Deutsche Telekom executive Dominique Leroy has said its goal is to reach 10 million households with fibre by the end of 2024 and that it would seek partnerships where it makes sense.

While Deutsche Telekom is preparing to invest billions, it is also faces a large bill to exercise options to raise its holding in T-Mobile U.S. to more than 50% from 43%.

However, it is already saddled with 130 billion euros of debt and is now selling businesses to reduce the pile.

First in line is its subsidiary T-Mobile Netherlands, which is estimated to be worth up to 5 billion euros. The Dutch mobile business has 6.8 million customers and its sales last year came to 1.9 billion euros.

Deutsche Telekom’s adviser on the deal, Morgan Stanley, has sent out first information packs to prospective bidders asking for offers by the end of July, people familiar with the process said.

Suitors including buyout groups KKR, EQT and Warburg Pincus are expected to take part, as is French telecoms entrepreneur Xavier Niel, the people said.

Warburg Pincus, which employs former Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann, came close to buying the business in 2015.

Morgan Stanley and the potential bidders all declined to comment.

Once that sale is out of the way, Deutsche Telekom may look to sell its telecom towers division, the people said, adding that while conversations with banks are taking place no decision has been taken.

($1 = 0.8248 euros)

 

(Editing by John O’Donnell and David Clarke)

Continue Reading

News

1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

Published

 on

Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

300x250x1

The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

News

Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

Published

 on


Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

300x250x1

Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

News

Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

Published

 on


Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

300x250x1

Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending