Zain CEO says talks on African assets sale halted

KUWAIT Oct 5 (Reuters) - The CEO of Zain, the Arab world's third-largest telecommunications operator, said it halted talks on the sale of its African assets to appease parties interested in buying a stake in Zain.

Zain Chief Executive Officer Saad al Barrak, speaking at a Monday evening event in Kuwait City, Kuwait, also indicated he expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, to moderate in the remainder of 2009.

He reiterated that full-year EBITDA would rise by 30 percent this year and said that it had risen by 33 percent in the first eight months of 2009.

Last month, Kuwaiti conglomerate Kharafi Group said it had agreed to sell 46 percent of Zain to a consortium led by India's Vavasi Group and including telecoms firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam [BSNL.UL] and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL.BO), and Malaysian billionaire Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary. [ID:nN08292119]