UAE government to ease Etisalat foreign ownership restriction

United Arab Emirates (UAE) telco Etisalat is to allow foreign share ownership for the first time, with overseas investors and foreign and domestic institutions able to hold up to 20% of the company. Etisalat is 60%-owned by the UAE government via the Emirates Investment Authority (EIA), while the remainder is held by local individual investors. No date has been given for when the change will take effect. Etisalat is the dominant fixed and mobile operator in the UAE, while it has operations in 18 other countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.