Saturday, Jul 14, 2007
(This story was originally published on Thursday.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Emirates Telecommunications Corp., or Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates' largest telecoms firm, may bid for Kuwait's third mobile phone license as the operator seeks future growth opportunities, a top executive said Thursday.
"We are exploring the possibility to bid for that. We are evaluating the conditions. Once we see it can create value for us, we will decide to bid," Etisalat Chairman Mohammed Omran told Dow Jones Newswires in a phone interview.
On July 10, Kuwait invited international telecommunication firms to participate in the first stage of the tender for the country's third mobile phone license.
Speaking from Abu Dhabi, Omran also said that Etisalat's subscriber numbers in Egypt were growing faster than expected.
"I am very surprised with the results. We started May 1, almost eight months after the license award. And within two months we have reached nearly 1 million," he said.
"Our expectation for the end of the year is 3 million and we still feel we can achieve that or do even better. In three years, we expect to reach 10 million," he added.
Etisalat, which operates in 11 countries in a region stretching from Pakistan to West Africa, in July 2006 won Egypt's third mobile phone license as leader of a consortium comprising Egypt Post Co., National Bank of Egypt and Commercial International Bank.
Etisalat on Wednesday said its second-quarter profit rose 28% to 1.89 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($514 million) from a year earlier, while first-half net profit rose 33% to AED3.7 billion.
Etisalat, which is 60%-owned by the U.A.E. government is still awaiting a decision from the federal government on whether a ban on foreign investment in its stock will be lifted.
"This is a government issue and it is aware. They will decide at the right time. I cannot comment when this will happen," Omran said.
Only U.A.E. nationals are currently allowed to own shares in Etisalat, the third largest Arab telecom company with a market value of AED94.6 billion.
Asked how much Etisalat would invest in expanding its operations over the next five years, Omran said that "we aren't limiting ourselves by a number."
"It will depend on the opportunity. Etisalat has a good balance sheet and we can use it rightly when there's a good opportunity," he added.
Etisalat has already invested more than $5 billion in the operator's international operations, whose "value now is more than $10 billion," Omran said.
The operator may borrow on the international debt markets to support further expansion plans, Omran said.
"If there's need we will go," Omran said, adding that all financing options including loans and Islamic financing would be open.
Until early 2007, Etisalat was a monopoly in its home market. The operator now competes with new entrant Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co., known as du.
"Our main income is from the U.A.E. We know that the market in the U.A.E. is open and we welcome that. But in the meantime we are introducing new services and new kind of facilities to our customers," Omran said.
Etisalat shares were trading up 1.9% to AED18.95 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market at 0850 GMT Thursday.
-By Oliver Klaus, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 364 4961 Oliver.Klaus@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
14-07-07 0514GMT
