SGC considers Zain stake

According to a report by Reuters, Kuwaiti investment firm Securities Group Company (SGC) is studying a bid to purchase a stake of up to 24.6% in Zain from sovereign wealth fund, Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). KIA’s managing director Bader al-Saad revealed to Al Arabiya on 5 October that the authority was open to selling part of its stake, although it was not party to negotiations led by the al-Kharafi Group to sell a 46% stake in Zain to an Indian-Malaysian consortium, which includes Indian telcos MTNL and BSNL. In response to the announcement SGC, which reportedly manages assets worth around USD2 billion in total, revealed in a newspaper advertisement that it was undertaking preliminary studies prior to placing a bid for a stake in Zain. Chairman and managing director of SGC, Ali al-Mousa, said: ‘This is a response to the announcement of KIA saying they are considering selling a stake in Zain… all we are saying is that we are interested.’