Agencies

Dubai / MUMBAI, Apr 3: Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest phone company, may buy a stake in B K Modi’s Spice Communications as it seeks ways to enter a mobile communications market set to overtake the US as the world’s No. 2.

Etisalat has met with Indian companies including Spice Communications, Mohammad Hassan Omran, the Abu Dhabi-based company’s chairman, said in an e-mail.

Etisalat may also seek licences to start its own operations. A final decision hasn’t yet been made, he wrote.

Spice, a wireless unit of Telekom Malaysia Bhd and the Modi’s, earlier jumped more than 10% for a second day to Rs 33.90, gaining 10.24%.from its Monday close. 

Shares of Spice, which plans to list its mobile phone unit this year after a $100 million initial public offering, have surged almost 30% in the last three trading days. They ended up 10.24% on Wednesday. 

“India is a very attractive market for Etisalat and we are studying different market entry strategies to determine the most appropriate fit,”  Omran said.

“We have also entered into direct meetings with various entities, amongst them Spice Communications,” Omran said, though no agreements have been made.

The second-largest Arab telecom company by market value is also looking at bidding for an Indian telecom licence, he said.

State-controlled and privately held Gulf Arab telecom companies, like Etisalat, Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co and Qatar Telecommunications Co, have stepped up foreign acquisitions in the last three years, buoyed by rising earnings in the world’s biggest oil exporting region.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based Etisalat operates in 16 countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In March, it started a company in India to develop software products and mobile phone applications.