UPDATE 2-Egypt's OT considering Lebanon's state mobile firm

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By Alaa Shahine

CAIRO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Egypt's Orascom Telecom ORTE.CA (ORTEq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the fourth-biggest Arab mobile phone operator by market value, is considering a bid for a state-owned Lebanese operator, Chairman Naguib Sawiris said on Monday.

The Egyptian billionaire shrugged off fears of instability in Lebanon, which is going through its worst political crisis since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990, and said that the problem could be the expected high price of the license.

"There is no (political) risk," he said. "The problem will be the high price of the auction."

Lebanon is considering selling majority stakes in its two state mobile firms in February to raise as much as $7 billion, the telecommunications minister said in October.

The Lebanese Telecommunications Regulatory Authority set a Feb. 1 deadline for bids in a public auction to be held on Feb. 21.

Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. (ZAIN.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (Zain) is planning to bid for one of the two Lebanese firms, the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper quoted the company's chief executive officer as saying last month.

Bahrain's Telecommunications Co BTEL.BH (Batelco) also said it was planning for investments in Lebanon as part of a $4 billion foreign acquisition plan.