12 Dec 2003

In a completely transparent process where the envelopes were opened in the presence of the bidders upon the submission deadline, Wataniya was the highest offer with a bid of US$421 million for Algeria's third GSM license.

 There were three bidders with Wataniya Telecom bidding the highest, Telefonica of Spain coming in second at US$409 million and MTN of South Africa coming in third with a bid of US$375 million.

Wataniya Telecom is carefully cementing its regional strategy of selectively investing in sound markets with promising returns. Its operations will now be in 4 countries, Kuwait, Tunisia, Iraq and Algeria.

Algeria has a population of 32.2 million with a real per capita GDP of US$1,855. Currently, Algeria"s mobile penetration rate is only 4.5% which leaves significant room for further growth. In fact, it is estimated that there are more than 900,000 requests on demand that are not satisfied by the existing two networks.

"Algeria has proved that a proper privatization program with transparent processes attracts foreign investment that will favorably stimulate the economics of the country and we hope this trend will continue in the region", said Faisal Al-Ayyar, Chairman of Wataniya Telecom.

"Wataniya Telecom"s Algeria network deployment program will commence immediately with a target of providing a service level expected by the Algerian people within 6 months."