Emirates Telecommunications Corp said it was interested in bidding for a stake in Kuwait's third mobile phone operator.

Kuwait's government has invited companies to express an interest in bidding for a 26 percent stake in the operator that it is setting up, by a Sept. 7 deadline.

"We are very interested in bidding," said Jamal al-Jarwan, general manager of international business at Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat), the third-largest Arab telecom provider by market value. Etisalat is controlled by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

"It makes a lot of a commercial sense for us to have operations in many countries, especially in the Middle East ...Kuwait's GDP per capita is high," he said by telephone.

Etisalat chairman Mohammed Omran told Reuters last month the company was evaluating the Kuwaiti invitation, though had not make a decision about bidding.

Still, it is not clear the Kuwaiti government will allow foreign companies to compete for the stake, Jarwan said.

The Establishing Committee for the 3rd Mobile Telecommunications Company in Kuwait yesterday said 25 parties had registered to participate in the public auction of 26 per cent share in the third mobile telecommunications company.

The registered bidders include 14 companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and 11 foreign telecommunications operators, said the statement

Kuwait's al-Seyassah newspaper said on Monday the Kuwaiti government had decided against allowing foreign firms to take part.

On Thursday, Kuwait's al-Wasat newspaper reported as many as 11 foreign and 14 local companies, including Saudi Telecom Co and Egypt's Orascom Telecom, were considering competing for the stake.

Others include Oman Telecommunications Co., National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House, the newspaper reported, without saying how it got the information.

Kuwait's Global Investment House, Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) and Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) may also bid, the newspaper said.

A CBK official, who did not want to be identified, said the bank was preparing a bid in partnership with Noor Financial  and a telecom operator he would not identify.

Kuwait's government will sell 50 percent of the planned operator in an initial public offering, 26 percent to an operator and keep the rest.

Kuwait has two mobile phone networks, one run by Mobile Telecommunications Co and the other by National Mobile Telecommunications Co, which is controlled by Qatar Telcommunications Co. - Reuters