Middle East and North Africa

India's Bharti and South Africa's MTN today confirmed they are to extend their merger talks by another month, with an exclusivity period now ending 31 August

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) has reported that its net profit for the first half of 2009 saw a slight fall year-on-year to OMR73.04 million (US$190.2 million), down from OMR74.8 million recorded in 1H08, notes TeleGeography.

TeleGeography, citing a report on Iranian TV channel Press TV, notes that Russia's MegaFon is the apparent winner of the country's protracted third mobile license auction.

Reuters reports that shares in Indian operator Bharti Airtel fell as much as 4.8 percent today - to their lowest in over three months - following worries that the company will increase by 5-10 percent its offer to buy a stake in South Africa's MTN.

Zain has raised US$2.5 billion in an Islamic finance deal to expand its network in Saudi Arabia, which has already picked up 4 million customers.

Two new CDMA operators are planning to launch into the crowded Nigerian mobile market, reports Nigeria's Business Day newspaper.

The CEO of Kuwait's Zain has confimed to local media that the operator is in talks with three firms regarding the planned sale of its African mobile operations, reports Reuters.