The Qatari firm is in talks with around 9-10 banks about committed financing for a bid.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and GIC will be the joint largest shareholders in Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa.
The telecoms operator posted a record revenue of $8.97 billion last year, up 2.2 per cent from 2011.
Hisham Akbar, who was also Zain’s chief operating officer, quit as of March 3.
Profit was boosted by higher revenue in Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq.
The company expects to finalise details of the initial public offering by the end of June.
All operations in which Qtel owns a controlling interest will rebranded under the new name.
The deal confirms Etisalat as FC Barcelona’s main sponsor in UAE, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Niger, Gabon and the Central African Republic.
Etisalat is talking to banks about a syndicated loan of up to $8 billion to finance the potential transaction.
Last year the operator wrote off the $827 million value of its Indian operation in its 2011 fourth-quarter results.
The telecoms operator made a fourth-quarter net profit of Dhs994 million, up from Dhs440 million in Q4 2011
The UAE telecoms firm is planning to finance a bid for Vivendi’s 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom.
The company enjoyed better than predicted profit growth last quarter of $501 million.
Jameel Abdullah al-Molhem is the latest in a line of senior executives to leave the company.
Simultaneous launches took place around the world including in Dubai.
Dr Nasser Marafih uses the World Economic Forum in Davos to highlight the issue.
The firm reported a Q4 net profit of 10.3 million rials, down from 11.9 million in 2011.
The operator’s profit was hit by domestic competition and one-off charges from a cost-cutting programme.
Qtel plans to use the amount to fund general business operations, sources said.
The mobile company reported a new loss of SAR443 million in the fourth quarter of the year.
The telecoms operator faced one-off charges related to affiliates in South Africa and India.
Etisalat has submitted interest in buying the 53 per cent stake in Morocco’s Maroc Telecom, valued at around $5.8 billion.
A 26 per cent rise in customers helps the operator trim its losses.
The Kingdom will be only the second country in the GCC to permit MVNOs.
The Saudi operator accounted for 41 per cent of Saudi telecom revenue in the first nine months of 2012.
As Tata Communications continues investing in the region, Radwan Moussalli, managing director – MENA, Tata Communications reveals the impact of network outages on Middle East companies.
The telecoms operator plans to use the funds for the future growth of its business.
Qatar telecom, along with its Kuwaiti arm Wataniya, now owns a 90 per cent stake in Tunisiana.
Asiacell will sell 67.503 billion shares at a price of at least 22 Iraqi dinars per share.
The telecoms operator signed a $100 million three-year loan facility with Singapore’s DBS Bank last week.