Kuwait-based telco Zain is considering expanding into the Libyan market, chairman Asaad Ahmed al-Banwan has said.
He told media on Sunday, the day of Zain’s annual shareholder’s meeting, that the company has “a study” for Libya, Reuters…
Kuwait-based telco Zain is considering expanding into the Libyan market, chairman Asaad Ahmed al-Banwan has said.
He told media on Sunday, the day of Zain’s annual shareholder’s meeting, that the company has “a study” for Libya, Reuters reported.
The Libyan telecoms market is currently monopolised by the state-owned Libyan Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology Co (LIPTIC), which controls both of the African nation’s mobile operators, Al Madar and Libyana, and its main ISP.
Last month, the CEO of the UAE’s Etisalat, Ahmad Julfar, said Libya had postponed a planned tender to manage LIPTIC, generally regarded as a precursor to privatisation. Reuters cited Julfar as saying that Etisalat would like to win the contract.
While Zain operates in about eight countries, it has not made any recent foreign acquisitions. In 2010, the company sold African assets to India’s Bharti Airtel for around US$10bn.
At Sunday’s meeting, al-Banwan also said Zain’s Iraqi unit would complete its much-delayed IPO by the end of 2013.
Zain was not immediately available for comment.
