United Arab Emirates telecommunications operator Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT) said it was looking to reinstate its initial public offering for Tunisie Telecom. Already owning 35 percent of the company, it says that its original offering was canceled without its approval. The debacle began in October of last year when Tunisie Telecom planned to dual list on the Paris and Tunis Stock Markets, with 10 percent being offered by EIT and another 10 percent by the Tunisian government, which currently holds the majority shares in the company. But that sale was put on hold in January as the country's political situation deteriorated with street protests that eventually ousted the former ruling government of over two decades. TeleGeorgraphy's CommsUpdate reported that Tunisia's labor union is not backing the offering and is demanding that the idea be withdrawal permanently. It said that it fears the move would see massive lay-offs. Emirati newspaper The National reported that EIT was not invited to a later meeting that saw the deal canceled and is now challenging the legality of that decision in February. In a press release published by The National, EIT's CEO Deepak Padmanabhan said that “for such a resolution to be valid it would need to be approved by a qualified majority of the board of directors consisting of representatives from the state of Tunisia and EIT.” In comments published by TeleGeography, Tunisia's Labor Union chief Mohamed Mongi Ben M'Barek said that the union believes Tunisie Telecom must remain a public entity. “We don't need to bring our demands to Tunisie Telecom's strategic partner, we bring them to the Tunisian state,” he said. BM
