Emirates Telecommunications Corp. offered 1 billion Libyan dinars ($825 million) in a "comprehensive offer" for the right to operate Libya's third mobile-telephone license as the United Arab Emirates' biggest phone company seeks to expand abroad, a company official said.

"In Libya we have submitted our offer," Jamal Al Jarwan, chief executive officer for Etisalat's international investments, said in an interview today.

"We have a technical, financial and commercial offer and the investment could reach near 1 billion dinars."

Middle Eastern telephone-service providers are expanding in Africa and Asia to seek clients in emerging markets with young and growing populations.

Those countries often have penetration rates, or numbers of people owning and using mobile phones, lower than in more developed European or Persian Gulf markets.

The provider of mobile, fixed-line and Internet services aims to invest in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa where "the penetration rate is below 50 percent on average," Al Jarwan said.

The company hopes to hear whether the Libyan government will accept the bid before the end of the year, he said.

Etisalat today reported third-quarter net income rose 5 percent to 2.25 billion dirhams ($610 million) as higher financial income and lower financing costs helped earnings.

The company aims to boost the contribution of international units to 30 percent of total sales over the next two years, Al Jarwan said in Dubai.

Etisalat, which is evaluating investment in Morocco, Algeria and Syria, wants to raise international sales in the long term to more than 40 percent of revenue, he said. The company is competing with regional rivals.

Vodafone Qatar QSC wants to expand into other countries in the Middle East, chief executive officer Grahame Maher said in an interview Oct. 6, mentioning Libya, Syria and Lebanon as markets of interest.

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Turkey's biggest mobile-phone company, said July 13 it planned to bid alone or with partners for mobile and fixed-line licenses in Libya.

Etisalat is still interested in Iran after a bid to provide services there fell through, Al Jarwan said. The company's investments in Saudi Arabia, where it runs Etihad Etisalat Co., the country's second-largest mobile-phone company, and Egypt have been "wildly successful," he added. (Bloomberg)