The chief executive of Etisalat, Ahmad Julfar [Ahmad AbdulKarim Julfar] (pictured), has told reporters that Libya has put on hold a tender to manage the country’s monopoly telecoms operator, the state-owned Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Co. (LIPTIC).
He said the United Arab Emirates-based company is keen on winning the contract to run LIPTIC, but has yet to be told the terms of such a deal.
"From their side, the government has put it on hold. We are yet to hear from them, but Libya is a good market,” ArabNews reports Julfar as saying.
The country’s two mobile operators, Al-Madar [Almadar] and Libyana, along with Libya’s main internet provider, are subsidiaries of LIPTIC.
The award of a management contract for LIPTIC is seen by analysts as a prelude to privatization, which could involve selling the company’s assets separately.
Etisalat, along with fellow former monopolies Saudi Telecom and Ooredoo (Qatar Telecom), have expressed interest in Libya.
“Libya’s telecommunications infrastructure is superior to those in most other African countries and services are available at some of the lowest prices on the continent,” BuddeComm wrote in a 2012 report. “Massive investments have been made by the former government.”
(Source: Arab News)
