WASHINGTON-A Bahrain Telecommunications Co. official said today his firm has entered a joint venture with Iraqi, Arab and Singapore investors to submit bids on Iraqi mobile-phone licenses tomorrow.
Rashid Al Sinan said the partnership was formed because foreign-government ownership restrictions prevent it from competing on its own. Batelco recently was ordered by U.S. authorities in Iraq to shut down mobile operations in that country because Batelco did not have proper authorization. Sinan, who denied any wrongdoing, said the Batelco group expects stiff competition from several major consortia created specifically for the purpose of acquiring mobile-phone permits in Iraq. The license terms are two years, and each applicant must pay a $30 million performance bond to the Coalition Provisional Authority, which is led by L. Paul Bremer of the United States.
