LG Electronics sees licensing of GSM operators in Iraq opportunity to boost handsets sales

M.B. Shin, LG Electronics' President, Middle East and Africa says the licensing in Iraq of three GSM mobile operators will speed up the country's reconstruction efforts and usher in a new age of telecommunications innovation.

Shin said LG Electronics is ready to provide Iraq with the large volume of handsets needed to meet the projected high demand from new-entry subscribers.

"LG Electronics is already a very well established brand in Iraq, and it has long won the trust of the Iraqi consumer. Building on that presence and our ability to supply the Iraqi market with a large volume of top quality handsets, we expect LG handsets to rapidly penetrate the Iraqi market," said Shin.

According to market data for the first quarter of 2003 released by world-class market survey agency Strategy Analytics, LG Electronics supplied 5.6 million mobile handsets worldwide, ranking 5th on the global mobile phone market.

Iraq has recently awarded three two-year GSM mobile phone network licenses to a consortium including Egypt Orascom Telecom to operate in the central region, Asia Cell, a group including Kuwait's National Mobile Telecommunications, to operate in the North, and Atheer Tel, a group including Kuwait's MTC, to operate in the South. The networks are expected to be running within weeks.