UPDATE 1-UAE's Etisalat raises stake in Tanzania's Zantel

DUBAI, April 18 (Reuters) - Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) said on Sunday it had raised its stake in Zanzibar Telecom Limited (Zantel) to 65 percent for $16 million, as the company pursues its international expansion plans.

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 Arab 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 Ltd 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.

Shares in Etisalat ended 0.9 percent lower at 10.75 dirhams ($2.93) each on Sunday.

(Reporting by Raissa Kasolowsky via Dubai Newsroom; editing by Thomas Atkins) ($1=3.672 dirhams) Keywords: ETISALAT ZANTEL/ ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.