Decks cleared for UAE's Etisalat to raise foreign shareholding to 49%

Dubai: UAE telecom giant Etisalat has cleared all the regulatory approvals to allow foreign investors to own up to 49 per cent in the company. It was in January that Etisalat made the decision to raise the foreign stake from 20 per cent to 49. (The Dubai-headquartered du has also gone through the same change.)

In a statement, Etisalat said that amendments have been brought to the Federal decree bylaw No. 1 of 1991. And that Article 7 was amended to allow the foreign shareholding up to 49 per cent. As of Tuesday (September 7), foreign shareholders held a 5.24 per cent stake in the company, which has a market cap of Dh196.89 billion. GCC nationals held an additional 0.29 per cent stake.