Etisalat’s African licence safari

The UAE’s state-run telecoms operator Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) is looking to expand its presence in East and West Africa, and considering acquiring operations in Libya, Yemen and Bangladesh. According to Obaid bin Mes’har, head of international operations, Etisalat is seeking to expand in Africa and the Middle East, where the markets are growing fast and record earnings derived from oil have helped fund the UAE government’s ability to dramatically outbid rivals, such as MTN Group of South Africa, for phone licences in the region.