Going Shopping for Etisalat

Going Shopping for Etisalat

As Etisalat drops its $100 million bid for Syrian licence, Kipp speculates which market may be next for the UAE teleco?

March 31, 2011 4:21 by Eva Fernandes

In any case, there have been reports that Iraq’s government is aiming to raise around $2 billion by auctioning off the country’s fourth national mobile licence by the end of 2011 and of course Etisalat does feature as one of those rumored to be potential bidders including Vodafone, France Telecom, Verizon, Turkcell and MTN. Of course, coming into the market as the fourth license is not a particularly encouraging or promising outlook for any teleco.

Then again, there is always Iran-where Etisalat lost its license (but not its desire to go back into the market) in May 2009. Etisalat, who had been planning to invest $5 billion over a period of five years for infrastructure in Iran, did say in a statement that the company “is and has always been committed to the development of the Iranian telecom market and perceives Iran as a great investment opportunity,”

On the other hand, Etisalat has been rather expressive of its desire to get further involved in Asia; and though its dealings as Etisalat DB in India has gotten the company all muddled up since the exposition of its role in the 2G scam, Kipp does remember how Etisalat was rumoured to be considering buying India’s Reliance Communications for a $3.8 billion equity buy-out in 2010.

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Tags: Etisalat, Etisalat deal, etisalat dubai, operators, Syria, telco, teleco, telecommunications, telecoms