Etisalat focusing on Qatar and Algeria bids

Etisalat’s general manager of international investments, Jamal Al Jarwan, said that the UAE-based telecom group is prioritising a bid for the second mobile licence in Qatar, whilst it also plans to bid on the sale of a government-owned stake in fixed line operator Algerie Telecom, which also controls Algeria’s second largest cellco, Mobilis. The winner of the Qatar mobile tender is due to be announced in October, whilst the Algerian government is still finalising plans for the privatisation of around 50% in the country’s incumbent telco.