Korea’s KT has confirmed it is in the preliminary stage of talks to acquire a 35 per cent stake in Tunisia’s state-controlled Tunisie Telecom, according to Reuters.

The stake is currently owned by Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT), an arm of Dubai Holding, which is seeking to reduce debt.

However KT will face some stiff competition. There are thought to be about ten other bidders interested in the stake, including Etisalat and Turkcell.

Tunisie Telecom is Tunisia’s second largest mobile operator with 4.4 million subscribers, behind Tunisiana with 7.3 million subscribers (all figures GSMA Intelligence, Q2 2013). The market leader is owned by Ooredoo’s Wataniya Telecom.

This is not KT’s first crack at the North African mobile market, although it dropped its bid earlier this year for Vivendi’s 53 per cent interest in Maroc Telecom.

The Tunisie Telecom stake currently held by EIT was bought in 2006 for $2.25 billion. In July, the same stake was valued at $650 million by JP Morgan Chase.

EIT holds a number of other telecoms investments, including a 19.5 per cent stake in Du, a mobile operator in UAE.