Etisalat aims to dominate Asian telecom market

Emirates Telecommunication Corp (Etisalat), which bought Millicom's Sri Lankan mobile operations, said on Saturday it planned investments in the firm in an effort to dominate the Asian country's market.

Millicom International said on Friday that Etisalat would wholly acquire Tigo, its Sri Lanka business for $207m and that the deal would close by October 20.

Etisalat, the Arab world's third biggest telecoms firm, operates in 18 countries including Egypt and India. It is one of a number of Gulf Arab telecom operations that have expanded overseas after losing their monopolies at home.

"(Etisalat) plans to invest in this company to ensure that it has the dynamism to take the leading position in the market in the next few years," chairman Mohammed Hassan Omran said in a statement.

Tigo is the second largest mobile operator in Sri Lanka and was licensed in March to offer third generation services.

"The acquisition promises attractive returns as the Sri Lankan government is increasing its effort to promote foreign investment in all sectors," Omran said.

He said the acquisition "offers great opportunities for synergy with our other operations in the region, particularly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India".

The Abu Dhabi-based firm said last week it aims to sell bonds, possibly Islamic, this year or by early 2010 to help finance its overseas expansion.

It is awaiting the outcome of bids for a fixed and mobile phone licence in Libya and has said it remains interested in entering Morocco's telecom sector. (Reuters)

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