Dubai Holding's telecom unit could conclude the sale of stakes in two other telecom firms in the next few months, its chief executive said, part of a strategy by state-linked companies to sell assets to repay the emirate's debt pile.
Dubai Holding, owned by the ruler of the emirate, is among a group of state-linked companies trying to recover from a 2009 property crash. The firms face debt repayments of about $50 billion over the next three years.
Its unit, Emirates International Telecommunications LLC (EIT) is seeking to sell its 35 percent stake in Tunisia's state-owned Tunisie Telecom and 26 percent stake in Dubai-based mobile phone retailer Axiom Telecom.
J.P. Morgan Chase estimates the sales of the minority stakes could generate $1 billion in total.
EIT Chief Executive Deepak Padmanabhan said on Tuesday that formal sale processes were underway.
"The process (Tunisian sale) is still going on. Given the current political climate it would be a few months ... The government has been so far supportive but it is the overall political climate that is the challenge," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.
source : www.reuters.com
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