February 25, 2007	Sunday	Safar 7, 1428

DUBAI, Feb 24: Emirates Telecommunications Corp. Etisalat said on Saturday it would decide within a week whether to bid for a majority stake in Kuwait's National Mobile Telecommunications Co.

A consortium holding 51 per cent stakes in Kuwait's second mobile phone operator said on Thursday it would consider a possible sale of shares and assigned Kuwait Projects Co. to lead the negotiations.

“We are looking at this opportunity and studying how it fits in our portfolio to see whether it makes sense strategically,” Jamal al-Jarwan, Etisalat's general manager for international business, told Reuters.

Jarwan said Etisalat had been studying public records of Wataniya and the Kuwait mobile phone market ahead of launching formal discussions.—Reuters