Saudi Telecom plans to spend around US$15 billion on buying firms and licences outside its home market this year, according to a Reuters report that cites an article in MEED magazine. The company will target mobile phone licences in Bahrain and Lebanon, writes the London-based magazine. It also plans to bid for Egypt’s second fixed-line licence, which will be auctioned in June this year. The report says Saudi Telecom has already invested around US$6 billion towards these projects. “We have started procedures to secure licences for the third mobile phone operator in Bahrain and the second land-phone provider in Egypt,” Saudi Telecom’s Fahd bin Mushayt is reported as commenting.

Saudi Telecom, the largest Middle Eastern telecoms company by market value, made its first foreign acquisition last year when it bought 25% of Malaysia’s Maxis for US$3 billion. Since then it has won Kuwait’s third mobile phone licence for US$907 million and acquired a 35% stake in Dubai-based Oger Telecom for US$2.6 billion.