No new bids for African assets: Zain

"The group would like to inform (the bourse) that there are no new offers at present," for the purchase of its African assets, Zain said in a statement posted on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website.

Shares of the largest listed firm in Kuwait rose by more than 10% in the past two days over the reports, and its market capitalisation gained about US$1.6 billion to US$14.6 billion.

Zain entered the African market in 2005 by buying the Dutch Celtel operations for US$3.5 billion. Later, it made bold acquisitions in Nigeria, Sudan and other smaller nations.

Last year, Zain entered into serious negotiations with a number of bidders, including French telecom group Vivendi, for the sale of its African assets, but the talks faltered because the bids were below expectations.

In September, major shareholders Al-Khorafi Group signed an initial agreement to sell a 46% stake worth US$14 billion to an Indo-Malaysian consortium that included two state-owned Indian telecom firms.

The deal was supposed to have been completed in four months. The deadline has passed without any progress, but the investors still stressed that the deal is not dead, although it will take more time.

The company's chief executive officer Saad al-Barrak resigned on Wednesday and the company accepted the resignation the following day.

Zain has developed from a local company with a customer base of under one million in 2002 to a major international firm with 72 million subscribers in 23 nations.

Source: AFP