Kharafi unit ups MTC stake

Kuwait's Kharafi Group has bought more shares in Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) through one of its units, bourse data showed after trading ended on Wednesday.

Al-Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate Co., which belongs to the family-owned conglomerate, now holds 9.27% of MTC, the exchange said on its Web site. It held 9.213 at the start of the week.

The stock of MTC has doubled in value this year, partly on speculation a foreign investor was looking to buy into the company, the second largest Arab telecom firm by market value.

Kharafi Group is MTC's second largest shareholder through al-Khair, according to the bourse Web site. The biggest shareholder is state-owned Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), whose stake was unchanged at 24.608 percent.