An investor from Saudi Arabia would likely take a stake of at least 10 percent in Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. (MTC) in September, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported.

Shares of MTC, the second-largest Arab telecom firm by market value, are up more than 90 percent this year, partly driven by rumours that a regional investor would buy a stake in the firm at a premium to its share price.

MTC officials have repeatedly declined to comment on the rumours, saying that any stake sale was a shareholder issue.

The Saudi partner, which Al-Qabas daily did not name, would not buy less than 10 percent, the paper reported, without saying how it obtained the information.

The deal is close to being finalised after months of preparation, the paper added.

In June, Al-Seyassah daily had reported that talks with a Saudi investor to buy 10 percent of MTC and 25 percent of its Celtel unit in Africa had been put off until November because of a disagreement over price.

In March, MTC, Kuwait's largest mobile phone firm, led a consortium that won Saudi Arabia's third mobile phone licence with the highest offer of $6.11 billion. Shares of MTC fell 0.93 percent on Saturday. - Reuters