Shareholders in Zain, Kuwait’s largest telecommunications operator, are to sell a 46 per cent stake in the company to a consortium made up of Indian telecoms companies and a Malaysian investor, for about $13.7bn.

Bard al-Kharafi, vice-president of the Kharafi Group, one of the main shareholders of Zain, confirmed the 2 dinars a share deal, one of the largest transactions on record in the Gulf.