Spice Global in talks to buy Dubai's Cellucom: Report

DUBAI: Leading manufacturer and retailer of mobile phones Spice Global is in talks to buy the Dubai-based Cellucom and other distressed regional mobile retailers as part of a major push into the Gulf markets, according to a local media report.

According to a report in The National, Bhupendra Kumar Modi, the chief executive of the Singapore-based Indian conglomerate, which has more than 700 Spice HotSpot mobile retail stores in India, is in discussions with Cellucom's liquidators to buy up its assets. The company is in the process of establishing its regional headquarters in Dubai.

"If Spice's acquisition of Cellucom, which was one of the largest mobile phone retailers in the UAE, goes through, it would be part of the company's plan to open 300-400 stores in the Gulf Cooperation Council region by the end of next year, with an investment of about $150 million (550.9 million Dubai dirham)," Mr Modi told the city daily.

The UAE's retail sales have been hit hard as the economic downturn prompts shoppers to cut back on non-essential spending, forcing consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers to cut prices.

Although consumer electronic goods sales in the Emirates rose 1.5 per cent in 2009, the value fell a whopping 33.8 per cent to 2.19 billion dirham as makers and retailers discounted heavily, the report said.