Etisalat to see top management shake-up: report

DUBAI, UAE: UAE telecoms operator Etisalat is preparing for a major management shake-up that includes the retirement of its long-time chairman and the appointment of a new group chief executive, according to a report on Tuesday.

Arabian Business, citing unnamed sources, said on its website that the changes will result in the departure of several high-level executives including Chairman Mohamed Omran, who may retire later this year.

Arabian Business said an announcement to the stock exchange was expected this week.

An Etisalat spokesman declined to comment on the report, saying: "Normally if we have any announcement, we immediately communicate it to the stock market and the media."

The Abu Dhabi-listed former monopoly's group financial officer Salem Al Sharhan left in April, citing personal reasons.

The Gulf's largest telecoms firm, which is 60-per cent-owned by the government, reported a 14.9 percent drop in profits last month, on higher operating costs rose and increasing competition in its home market from Dubai-based operator du .

Shares in Etisalat, which dropped plans to buy a controlling stake in Kuwait's Zain for $12 billion in March, were 0.96 per cent lower at 0729 GMT on the Abu Dhabi bourse.