UAE’s Etisalat to allow foreigners to buy shares: report

UAE telecom giant Etisalat will allow foreigners to buy its shares soon, the Dubai-based Al-Khaleej daily reported Sunday.

The company's chief executive Ahmad Julfar told the newspaper that the legal procedure to turn Etisalat into a publicly traded company has been finalized, and is now waiting for approval from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council so they can move ahead with the IPO.

The company said Wednesday it may raise its holding in Saudi Arabia affiliate Mobily, a move that could give a major boost to its bottom line if it took a majority stake. Etisalat does not currently fully consolidate Mobily’s earnings because it owns only a 27-28 percent stake in Saudi Arabia's No. 2 operator.

Reuters reported Thursday that the company is undertaking a review of all its operations across the 17 countries in which it operates. Julfar told al-Khaleej daily that they have no plans to make new acquisitions during the next two years. Instead, the company will focus on improving its performance in the foreign markets where they operate.