The Egyptian unit of Emirates Telecommunications Corp. said on Monday it planned to invest up to LE 8 billion ($1.41 billion) over the next three years on its network to boost coverage area. Etisalat Egypt, which started operations on May 1, also plans to sell shares in an initial public offering in 2009, Chief Executive Saleh Al-Abdouly told reporters in Abu Dhabi without giving details. Etisalat Egypt would make the investments in order to reach a target of 10 million subscribers in the most-populous Arab country by 2010, he said. The company had secured 300,000 subscribers this month, Etisalat s chairman said this week. In February, Etisalat said it would borrow LE 10 billion from local and international banks to finance expansion of the Egypt operation, which now offers services to 14 cities in Egypt. The company has already invested LE 2 billion in building base stations and core networks, Abdouly said. We are planning to spend LE 6-8 billion over the next three years, he said, adding that the aim would be to cover 80 percent of the country by 2008 and 90 percent by 2009. Mobile penetration is still below 20 percent in Egypt which has a population of 70 million. It is a huge market and presents tremendous potential. We expect mobile penetration to go up to 50 per cent over three to five years, he said. The low penetration and the strong growth of the economy will help us achieve at least a 30 percent market share in three to five years. Etisalat, the third-largest Arab telecom firm by market value, holds a 66 percent stake in Etisalat Egypt, which it bought with other shareholders last year for $2.9 billion.
