Etisalat to Bid for Stake in Turk Telecom Firm

The Emirati telecom firm Etisalat is to bid at the end of May for a 55-percent stake in Turkey’s state telecommunication company, Turk Telekom, its executive president said in remarks published yesterday. The United Arab Emirates telecom service provider will make the bid as part of its expansion drive, Muhammad Hassan Omran told the Dubai daily Al-Bayan. He did not say how much Etisalat was prepared to pay for the stake in Turk Telekom, but the company last year won a license to operate a second mobile phone service in the lucrative Saudi market by leading a consortium which made the highest offer.