Zain’s net income boosted by Africa sale

Zain’s net income jumped 411 per cent to reach KD976m inclusive of the capital gain of KD770.3m from the sale of Zain Africa assets for the first nine months of 2010. The operator generated consolidated revenues of KD1.01bn ($3.5bn) for the period, an increase of 8.4 per cent year-on-year. Subscribers increased 25 per cent to reach 35.3 million.

Earlier this month UAE operator Etisalat made an offer for a 46 per cent stake in Zain in a move that makes a lot of sense in terms of advancing Etisalat’s own expansion plans.