Etisalat hopeful on foreign investment

Etisalat, the third largest Arab telecom firm by market value, hopes foreigners will be allowed to buy its shares in as little as six months, the chairman said.The government of the United Arab Emirates, the world's sixth largest oil exporter, owns about 60% of the company. Foreigners are banned from owning its shares by law."We are discussing with the government and it is working on reforming the act," Mohammed Omran told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday.

"I am hoping for Etisalat shares to be open to foreigners within the next six to 12 months," he said.Etisalat is also considering a bid for a stake in Kuwait's third mobile phone firm, Omran said."We are evaluating whether we will bid for the Kuwait licence, but we haven't made a firm decision yet," he said. Source