The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, through the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies (MCIT), intends to offer for sale 80% of the share capital of Afghan Telecom Corporation (AfTel), a public company incorporated under the laws of Afghanistan, whose entire share capital is owned by the MCIT.

AfTel was incorporated in September 2005 and operates fixed line and wireless voice and data services throughout the territory of Afghanistan under a 25 year license. AfTel presently serves over 95,000 customers in 34 provincial capitals and 254 district centres and villages. It offers traditional wire-line telephony and internet access in the major cities, and CDMA-based wireless and high-speed internet services, based on state-of-the-art switching, wireless access and satellite equipment.

This request for Expressions of Interest (EoI) signifies the start of an open, transparent and objective tender process which will be overseen by a Ministerial Committee established by the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Interested parties are invited to register their interest and to pre-qualify in bidding for the stake in AfTel by completing a Registration of Expression of Interest (REI) in English, containing details of the applicant and its relevant experience, which can be downloaded from the following link “Registration Form” .

In this REI, interested parties must show that they have a proven track record in owning and operating fixed and wireless telecommunications networks according to the minimum criteria set out therein. In addition to the completed REI, interested parties should also provide:

· Copy Certificate of Incorporation or similar proof of corporate standing

· Copy audited financial statements for the last two years

· Signed Confidentiality Undertaking (pro-forma attached to the REI form on the MCIT website as above)

· Payment of a non-refundable registration fee of US$10,000 (or proof of payment by wire transfer to the MCIT bank account specified in the REI )

The deadline for receipt of REI and all additional documentation is 15.00 hours (local time) on 04 April, 2008. REI submitted in hard copy must be in a sealed envelope marked: “REI – AFGHAN TELECOM” and delivered to:

Ajmal Ayan

Director of Planning Department

Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies

Mohammad Jan Khan Watt

Kabul

Afghanistan

Alternatively, the REI and all additional documentation may be electronically submitted to the following email address: ajmal.ayan@moc.gov.af In this case, the additional documentation must be in pdf form, the Confidentiality Undertaking having been signed by an authorised signatory or signatories whose signature(s) should be notarised in the country of origin.

The MCIT or the Ministerial Committee reserves the right, in its sole discretion: to reject or accept any REI received pursuant to this public invitation; to consider, accept or reject any application on the basis of the criteria set out in the REI; and to extend the deadline for the submission of EoI qualification information and any other action to be taken.

Upon receipt of the REI from interested parties, the Ministerial Committee shall evaluate and pre-qualify applicants for participation in the tender. Successful applicants will be notified by the Ministerial Committee within 1 week of the REI submission deadline. The list of successful applicants will also be posted on the MCIT website. Thereafter, pre-qualified applicants will be issued a Bid Package for the tender. Details of the bidding procedure will be contained in the Bid Package.

Interested parties may associate or form consortia to enhance their qualifications, provided that (1) at least one of the parties is a public telecommunication network operator which meets the pre-qualification criteria set out in the REI form and (2) each member of the consortium submits and/or signs the required documentation as set out in this notice and in the REI.