UAE's Etisalat eyes $1 bln stake in Tata firm - paper

DUBAI (Reuters) - Emirates Telecommunications Corp may compete with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and Russia's Altimo for a $1 billion stake in India's Tata Teleservices Ltd., al-Khaleej newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Etisalat is likely to make the best offer, the United Arab Emirates newspaper reported, without saying how it got the information.

"We have already mentioned we are evaluating several opportunities in India," Etisalat Chairman Mohammed Omran told Reuters on Tuesday.

"We haven't decided to select one at this stage. It is still too early," he said, declining to comment directly on the newspaper report.

A Tata Teleservices spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of the story, saying "we continue to evaluate all options."

State-owned Etisalat said last month it was looking to invest as much as $4 billion in India, either buying into a telecom provider or a licence.

The company had held talks with India's Spice Communications about a possible investment, Omran said last month.