Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest phone company, said the global economic crisis is creating acquisition opportunities and it is “still” interested in the Iranian market.
“Iran is a big market and our interest in it is still there,” said Etisalat’s Chief Strategy Officer Ali Al Ahmed in an interview in Beirut on Thursday. “We went there with a partner and that has been put off. But we are still keeping our options open now or in the near future.”
Etisalat said this month an agreement with Iran for a third mobile licence was cancel led. Etisalat and Iran’s Tamin Telecom were dropped because they failed to meet commitments stated in the bid, the Tehran-based newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad said on May 11, citing the Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mohammad Soleimani.
“There are a lot of vulnerable telecom companies right now and the crisis has presented opportunities,” Al Ahmed said.
عناوين
