Naguib Sawiris, Egypt’s billionaire businessman, hopes to become a new independent satellite television mogul in the Middle East, replicating his regional success in telecommunications.

The head of the Cairo-based Orascom Telecom Holdings, the region’s largest mobile telephone operator, is already majority-owner in two satellite television stations, Melody music and Melody films. He is now starting a third entertainment channel dedicated to young audiences and has applied for a licence to launch a 24-hour satellite news channel for Egypt’s domestic market.