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Emirate’s Etisalat tends to buy a majority stake in Kuwaiti ZAIN

2009-07-22

Dubai-Kuwait-Reuters: The CEO of the international unit that is related to Emirates Telecommunication Corporation said that it is interested in buying %51 of ZAIN on the suitable price. Jamal Al Jarwan said to Reuters in a phone interview “we are interested in ZAIN as a whole according to the appropriate values”, indicating that the two companies offer the same services in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, and added “ we are looking forward to buy %51 from ZAIN”. Etisalat which operates in 18 countries; is one of the Gulf telecommunications’companies that had spread aboard after they had lost the service’s monopoly in their local markets.  ZAIN which is partially owned by the General Institute of Investment said on last Monday that it is still hoping for selling its African operations despite the announcement of the Media conglomerate Vivendi of stopping the negotiations of buying majority stake in the operations. Al Jarwan said yesterday that Etisalat- which is the biggest telecommunications company in the region in terms of market capitalization- is interested in the whole ZAIN group and not the African operations only, and added that the two companies offer the same services in several countries.  Al Jarwan didn’t say if Etisalat is implementing ongoing negotiations with ZAIN regarding a potential stake buy.