Kuwait telecoms firm eyes North Africa expansion

EXPANSION PLANS: Wataniya already has operations in Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa. (Getty Images)

Kuwait's National Mobile Telecommunications Co (Wataniya) is looking for acquisitions outside Kuwait and is interested in expanding its operations further in North Africa, its chief executive said.

"We already have two operations in North Africa, in Algeria and Tunisia, so North Africa is definitely a place that we want to be," Scott Gegenheimer told Reuters on Tuesday.

"If there are other opportunities available we will be definitely looking at that."

Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai said on Tuesday in an unsourced report that Wataniya aims to acquire up to 20 percent of a Moroccan telecom firm.

Gegenheimer declined to comment on the report.

He also said Wataniya's profit in the second quarter will be "a lot better" than the first quarter of this year.

Wataniya, the country's second-largest mobile telephone operator, posted a 4.4 percent fall in first-quarter net profit to 15.3 million dinars ($53.18 million). (Reuters)

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