UAE Etisalat to Soon Allow Foreigners to Own Its Shrs

Emirates Telecommunications Corp., or Etisalat, will soon allow foreigners to own its shares, Al-Khaleej newspaper reports Sunday, citing the telecom operator’s chief executive.

“Etisalat to allow foreigners to own its shares soon,” Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, Etisalat’s CEO, told the newspaper. Emirates Investment Council is currently working on amending the law to allow foreign ownership of its shares, he added.

Julfar also told the paper that Etisalat has ruled out making any acquisitions over the next two years, or until 2014, especially with the political and economic instability in the region that requires more time to access real opportunities in the telecoms sector.

He added that Etisalat has no intention of making any new investments in India, where the company is currently working on the financial and legal aspects to liquidate its license in that country.

Etisalat was not immediately available to comment.

Zawya