UPDATE 1-Etisalat's Q1 profit up, eyes Syria, Lebanon

* Etisalat's profit up 4 pct

* Eyes Lebanon, Syria licence bids

* Eyes Middle East, Africa, Asia growth

(Combines separate stories, adds background)

DUBAI, April 20 (Reuters) - Emirates Telecommunications Corp ETEL.AD (Etisalat) posted on Monday a 4 percent rise in first-quarter net profit and said it was interested in bidding for telephone licences in Syria and Lebanon.

Etisalat said in a statement it was on the lookout for investment opportunities and seeking to grow in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

"Etisalat is working through a conservative policy to search for investment opportunities that might emerge as a result of the global crisis," said Chairman Mohammed Omran.

"We will continue to observe and study various markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa since they are high density."

"Etisalat has a great interest in competing for the licences available in Syria and Lebanon once they are officially put to bid," he said, without specifying a date.

Etisalat also said it expected to begin commercial operations in India in the second half of the year.

The United Arab Emirates' largest of two phone companies bought a 45 percent stake in new Indian operator Swan Telecom for about $900 million last year.

India, home to more than 1 billion people is the second-largest wireless market in the world.

Etisalat's first-quarter profit compared with a net income of 2.1 billion dirhams in the first three months of 2008, the firm said in a statement. Etisalat revised the income statement for the first-quarter of 2008.

Analysts' profit forecasts ranged from 2.1 billion dirhams to 2.25 billion dirhams, a Reuters survey in April showed. [ID:L2342348] (Reporting by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Inal Ersan and Andrew Macdonald)