Kuwait's KIA wants updates on Zain's stake sale- paper

KUWAIT, July 30 (Reuters) - Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, has asked Zain (ZAIN.KW) to keep it updated on any talks linked to a stake sale in the mobile operator, a local newspaper said on Thursday.

KIA, which owns 24.6 percent of Zain, said it wants to be able to evaluate any offer based on its own investment strategy, al-Qabas said in an unsourced report citing correspondence between two parties.

The newspaper said the telecoms firm agreed to inform KIA on any serious offers or developments on the issue, Qabas added.

KIA could not immediately be reached for comment.

Earlier this month, the head of Emirates Telecommunications Corp. ETEL.AD (Etisalat) told Reuters the UAE firm was interested in buying a 51-percent stake in Zain Group, "given the right values." [ID:nLL452266]

Etisalat said last week it had made no formal offer.

Zain has been in the news in recent weeks after it said it is still reviewing a possible sale of its African operations -- excluding Morocco and Sudan -- after French media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.PA) broke off talks on buying the operations.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Amran Abocar)