Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007

(This story was originally published on Tuesday.)

By Tahani Karrar

Of ZAWYA DOW JONES

KHARTOUM (Zawya Dow Jones)-Persian Gulf-listed Sudan Telecommunications Co. (SDTL.BH), or Sudatel, plans to buy more African mobile licenses and expand its business in troubled southern Sudan, a senior company executive said.

"If the opportunity arises we hope to expand in Africa," Zainelabdin A. Zainelabdin, Director of Sudatel's Executive Office told Zawya Dow Jones.

Telecoms services across Africa are growing at twice the global rate, with the number of mobile subscribers jumping to 136 million by 2005, from 16 million seven years ago, according to the International Telecommunications Union.

Zainelabdin said, Sudatel, which is about 23% owned by the Sudanese government, would also expand further in the country's southern regions of Wau, Malakal and Juba.

Oil rich southern Sudan suffered greatly during the 21-year civil war between the Southern People's Liberation Movement, or SPLM, and the government.

In 2005, a peace agreement was signed and a combined government was set up, which led many displaced people to return to the south strengthening its economy and raising demand for goods and services.

"Inside Sudan there is a great opportunity for work, in the coming year our focus will be in the Sudan," he said in an interview in Khartoum Monday.

Sudan's economy is booming, with growth expected to rise by more than 13% this year, spurred by record oil earnings, which account for 90% of the country's export revenue, according to Economist Intelligence Unit data.

Zainelabdin said, the company has added two million subscribers from Southern Sudan in one year to its total user base.

Sudatel is expanding its business in Sudan at a time when the country is coming under increasing pressure over the conflict in Darfur, where some 2.5 million people are estimated to have been displaced since 2003.

"People outside see us as north and south, as two different things but in south Sudan it is not like this," Zainelabdin said.

African Growth

The company, which is listed in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Khartoum, reported profits of $809 million for 2006 after it sold its 61 percent stake in Sudanese mobile operator company Mobitel to Kuwaiti telecoms group Zain (ZAIN.KW), formerly known as Mobile Telecommunications Co.

Last year, Sudatel beat international rival France Telecom (FTE) to win a $100 million operating license in Mauritania. In September, it beat competition from 11 other bidders, including Kuwait's Zain, to acquire a $200 million operating license in Senegal.

The company is now looking for a Senegalese partner before it launches services in the West African country.

Zainelabdin denied speculation that Sudatel planned further growth in Ghana and French speaking Africa as it seeks to expand across the continent.

Khartoum-based Sudatel's shares opened flat at U.A.E. dirhams 7.72 ($2.10) on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, after closing down 1.5% Monday. The stock is down 2.2% since the beginning of the year, while the Abu Dhabi market has risen more than 23% during the same period.

-By Tahani Karrar, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 364 4960; tahani.karrar@dowjones.com

Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Co., Inc.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-10-07 0538GMT