Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat), which lost a bid to take a stake in Morocco's Meditel telecoms firm, is still interested in the country's telecom sector, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Ahmed Bin Ali said Etisalat, the Arab world's third biggest telecoms firm by market value, saw Morocco as a growth market.

'We are monitoring closely and we still think that Morocco is a good market,' Ali told Reuters. 'It depends on what new is coming up and it does not only include Meditel but any other opportunity.'

Portugal Telecom and Telefonica sold their stakes in Meditel, Morocco's No. 2 player, to Moroccan investors this week.

Ali also said Etisalat had no interest in taking a stake in Kuwait rival Zain or its African assets, which are on the auction block. – Reuters