The Tunisian government has approved the sale of a 15% stake in local carrier Tunisiana to Qatari operator Qtel.
Qtel announced the US$360m acquisition last week, but yesterday Tunisia’s Higher Investment Committee gave the green light for the deal to…
The Tunisian government has approved the sale of a 15% stake in local carrier Tunisiana to Qatari operator Qtel.
Qtel announced the US$360m acquisition last week, but yesterday Tunisia’s Higher Investment Committee gave the green light for the deal to go ahead, according to the Kuwait News Agency.
The 15% stake was part of the Tunisian government’s 25% holding in the telco, confiscated from Sakher El Materi, son-in-law of the ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The Finance Ministry’s national committee on the management of confiscated funds and properties is now considering a potential sale of the remaining 10% stake in the company, according to the agency.
On completion of the deal, Qtel and its subsidiaries will own 90% of Tunisiana.
Tunisiana is already 75%-controlled by Kuwaiti carrier Wataniya Telecom, itself majority-owned by Qtel.
“We…look forward to continuing our partnership with the Tunisian authorities as Tunisiana enters into a new phase of its development with the continuing expansion of 3G services and the launch of fixed line services in 2013,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, chairman of Qtel Group, in the company’s announcement last week. “We are convinced that these new services will enhance the experience of Tunisiana’s customers and will contribute to growth in Tunisia’s economy.”
