Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) said on Sunday it had raised its stake in Zanzibar Telecom Limited (Zantel) to 65 percent for $16 million.

Etisalat purchased a further 14 percent in equity in Tanzanian operator Zantel, the firm said in a statement posted on the bourse website on Sunday.

The group's chief strategy officer said in March that Etisalat's target was to generate 25-30 percent of its revenue from international operations in three years.  

Around 10 percent of the group's revenue comes from its approximately 18 overseas operations, which also include India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Etisalat, the Gulf region's second-largest telecommunications firm by market value, has been aggressively expanding outside the United Arab Emirates since its monopoly there was broken by Dubai-based du in 2007.

Etisalat's decision to increase its stake in Zantel comes after Kuwait's Zain sold most of its African operations, including its Tanzanian unit, to India's Bharti Airtel for $9 billion.

Other firms operating in Tanzania include market leader Vodacom Tanzania, a unit of the South African company, and Tigo, owned by Millicom Cellular.  -Reuters