TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian government says it is against the takeover of the country's second-biggest mobile phone company by a Serbian counterpart.
Prime Minister Edi Rama on Tuesday said Serbia Telekom "is not our preference" to buy Telekom Albania. He added, however, that companies from Serbia — historically Albania's regional rival — are generally welcome in Albania.
Serbia Telekom was one of several companies interested in buying Telekom Albania, which is part of the Deutsche Telekom group and is up for sale.
Governments sometimes veto foreign takeovers on national security grounds, though Albania has not explicitly said it would do so.
Rama said the government does not typically play a role in private transactions, but wants to express its opinion because the mobile phone market "is a strategic sector."
