| UAE's telecommunications operator Etisalat is among the 10 international companies that have submitted bids for the 800 million euro acquisition of 70% of Mobi63, Serbia's largest mobile operator.
Bogdan Petrovic, the Economic Ministry's privatisation adviser, said the minimum bid is 800 million euro. The result of the auction will be known by the end of summer.
Other pre-qualified bidders include Deutsche Telekom AG, France Telecom and Austrian Mobikom, Egypt's Orascom, Norway's Telenor ASA, TeliaSonera AB and Tele2 AB from Sweden, Israel's Cellcom and Russia's OJSC Mobile.
Mobi63 is the new telecoms company created for the privatisation of Serbia's national mobile network MobTel. Mobi63 is to succeed MobTel as Serbia's mobile provider. The government recently passed amendments to its telecommunications law to permit the privatisation. Mobi63 is now 70% owned by Serbian postal company PTT Srbija and 30% by an Austrian consortium.
Etisalat intends to be among the top 10 telecommunications corporations in the world by expanding its operations in overseas markets. It now has a presence in 10 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
According to a senior official of Etisalat, Europe is one of the most important regions where the operator is looking to establish a presence, following the end of its monopoly regime in the UAE. He said Etisalat is also competing for the third GSM license in Egypt. It has also won the license for the second GSM network in Saudi Arabia.
Source: Khaleej Times - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News
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