“If the terms of the Syrian mobile license are changed, Etisalat will analyse the new terms,” the telecom operator said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi bourse.
Etisalat, which also withdrew a $12 billion takeover offer for Kuwaiti rival Zain earlier this year, had pulled its Syria license bid saying it was disappointed with the terms.
The company had been one of five firms to have qualified for the license auction.
Syria, which is grappling with political unrest, delayed the bidding for the country’ third mobile operator license, according to another bid hopeful Saudi Telecom.
Etisalat established a $7 billion global medium-term note (GMTN) program and a $1 billion sukuk program last year, allowing it to issue conventional or Islamic bonds when needed.
The telecom operator said that it had no need for a bond issuance currently and the establishment of its GMTN and sukuk program was to prepare for a future bond, if needed.
The Gulf Arab region’s No. 2 telecoms group has an A+ rating from Fitch.
The company, which operates in 18 countries including Egypt and India but derives 85 percent of its income from domestic operations in the United Arab Emirates, is among Gulf telecom operators looking to expand overseas after losing their monopoly at home.
A potential Zain deal would have provided Etisalat access to markets in Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan.
Etisalat shares rose 1 percent in early Abu Dhabi trade.
Meanwhile, another report said that Etisalat was not in talks to buy the tower arm of India’s Reliance Communications, the UAE telecoms operator said on Thursday.
“At this time, we are not considering an acquisition of Reliance Infratel,” Ahmed bin Ali, Etisalat group senior vice president corporate communications, said in an e-mailed statement.
In May, Reliance said it had received several offers for its 95 percent stake in its tower arm, Reliance Infratel, without naming the bidders.
Saddled with more than $7 billion in net debt and having seen seven straight quarters of profit declines, India’s second-largest mobile carrier has so far been unsuccessful in its efforts to raise funds to cut debt.
Etisalat owns about 45 percent of Indian mobile firm Etisalat DB, formerly Swan Telecom, with the Indian operator caught up in a corruption probe into whether mobile phone licenses and radio spectrum were sold at below-market prices in return for kickbacks.
