New York, 20 December 2023: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services, recently participated in an investor conference organized by New Street Research and Boston Consulting Group in New York, highlighting the achievements of its digital operator strategy.
“VEON has a tailored digital operator approach in each of its markets, going beyond traditional telecommunications and providing digital experiences that are locally relevant. This results in not only the growth of our market share in our industry, but the expansion of our overall wallet share in terms of the value generated in adjacent verticals. We are happy to see that investors understand and appreciate VEON’s track record of success based on this model and the future opportunities that this transformation brings” said Kaan Terzioglu, VEON Group CEO.
At the NSR/BCG conference, VEON provided a case in point for its digital transformation by highlighting the journey of Jazz, Pakistan’s largest mobile operator which has successfully evolved its business model into being a provider of digital experiences.
“As Pakistan's largest digital operator, our purpose is to improve the lives and livelihoods of our people by unlocking the power of digital and financial inclusion. A key driver of our solid topline growth is our digital operator strategy, which is rooted in our commitment to offering our customers exceptional services, achieving a 29% increase in the third quarter of 2023. Our financial services, JazzCash and Mobilink Bank, serve tens of millions of customers, contributing to financial inclusion in the country and addressing the increasing demand in a significantly underserved market. As a result, our financial services are growing at a rate that is double that of our overall business,” said Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, addressing the audience who joined “NSR/BCG Future Series: The Future of Wireless, AI and Convergence.”
JazzCash has 15.8 million monthly active users as of November and a total value of transactions roughly equivalent to 6% of Pakistan’s overall GDP. Jazz’s sister company Mobilink Bank serves 42 million depositors and 4 million currently active borrowers.
In all of its six markets – Pakistan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan – the digital operator strategy helped VEON achieve strong and sustained growth. The Group has recently raised its full-year guidance for 2023 to 18%-20% growth year-on-year in local currency for revenues and EBITDA.
Conference co-host New Street Research, which had reinstated coverage of VEON shares on 11 October 2023, recently upgraded its target price for VEON on the back of VEON’s upgraded full-year guidance: https://www.newstreetresearch.com/company/veon/
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides converged connectivity and digital services to nearly 160 million customers. Operating across six countries that are home to more than 7% of the world’s population, VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven services that empower individuals and drive economic growth. Headquartered in Amsterdam, VEON is listed on NASDAQ and Euronext. For more information visit: www.veon.com
Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements,” as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and include statements relating to, among other things, VEON’s commercial offerings. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot predict with accuracy and some of which VEON might not anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to publicly update, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws, any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such dates or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
VEON
Hande Asik
Group Director of Communication
pr@veon.com
