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ABU DHABI — Emirates Telecommunication Company, or
Etisalat, plans to invest in telephone services in
Syria and Lebanon as the governments of those
countries begin selling off their state-owned
telecoms assets in coming months.
Etisalat, which already runs phone companies in 15
countries, hopes to broaden its overseas operations
still further when Libya declares the winner of its
auction of a third GSM licence. Etisalat is a strong
contender for that business, said Jamal Al Jarwan,
chief executive officer for Etisalat International
Investments.
Al Jarwan on Tuesday told a business conference
organised by
MEED
magazine that Etisalat wants to become one of the
ten largest telecom companies in the world. To help
achieve this goal, it wants to acquire other
companies soon to take advantage of lower market
valuations resulting from the global economic
downturn, he said.
Etisalat will take part in the privatisation of
Syria’s lone mobile telecom operation as well as of
Lebanon’s two state-run telecom operators, Al Jarwan
said to reporters on the sidelines of the conference
in the capital. Both countries want greater
competition in their phone services.
He added that it would be premature for him to
comment on the amount of investment a Libyan licence
for GSM mobile and fixed telephone lines would
require, should Etisalat emerge the winner of the
bidding in that North African country.
Etisalat announced in October that it had acquired
the Sri Lankan telecoms firm Tigo for $207 million.
Al Jarwan said his cash-rich company would start
operations in India during the first quarter of next
year and that it is looking at other markets in
Asia, Africa and Middle East region with interest.
“These regions have growth potential in the telecom
sector,” he told the
conference.
Etisalat has ample cash reserves of Dh10.84 billion,
and its free cash flows exceeds Dh5.7 billion, the
chief executive said.
The company, with assets exceeding Dh69 billion,
reported a 6 per cent year-to-year growth in
revenues during the nine months ending September 30.
Its net profit for the same period grew by 9 per
cent, while its earnings per share swelled by 8 per
cent, he told the conference. |
