FACTBOX-Recent Arab investments in sub-Saharan Africa

(Reuters) - Senegal will host a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Dakar on March 13-14, at a time when many Middle East and North African companies are making large investments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Below are a list of some recent Arab investments by sector.

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Kuwait's Zain spent $3.4 billion to acquire Netherlands-based Celtel in 2005, and says it has spent $6 billion more expanding its network to 15 African countries, with a roaming-free service covering 400 million potential customers -- or roughly a third of the continent's population.

Zain said in December it would launch a rights issue for more than $4 billion to pursue its aggressive growth strategy in the Middle East and Africa, where its operations stretch from Sierra Leone to Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.

Zain faces a challenge from Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat), the second largest Arab telecom company, which said in November it was mulling $5 billion of new investment in Africa. It has acquired stakes in operators in Tanzania, Sudan, Benin, and Nigeria -- the continent's most populous nation and a top target for telecoms firms.

Sudatel, partly owned by Etisalat, has paid $300 million to launch mobile phone operators in Mauritania and Senegal in recent months.

Maroc Telecom, controlled by France's Vivendi, acquired 51 percent of Onatel Burkina Faso in December 2006 for 220 million euros and Gabon Telecom for 61 million euros in January 2007. It bought a controlling state in Mauritanian operator Mauritel in 2001.

Libyan holding company Libyan African Portfolio (LAP) Greencom acquired Uganda Telecom in April 2007 and Rwandatel in October 2007. Investment figures were not made public.