Kuwaiti mobile operator Zain said on Wednesday it was working with Swiss investment bank UBS and other consultants to review its strategy, as a result of the global financial downturn.

'(Zain) cooperates with UBS and other consultants to study and review Zain's overall strategies, which reflects positively on shareholders' equity,' it said in a statement on the bourse website.

On Tuesday, daily Al-Anbaa cited a quoted Zain official as saying it had no objections to selling its African operations if the price was right and had received several offers including one from Europe's largest entertainment group, Vivendi.

A spokesman declined to comment on the story.

In the statement, Zain did not say whether it was specifically reviewing its African operations.

Zain's shares were up 5 percent at 0716 GMT in Kuwait, outperforming the market, which was down 0.24 percent.

The operator, whose biggest shareholder is Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, has spent heavily to expand and operates in 23 countries in the Middle East and Africa.         

It has spent more than $12 billion in Africa since 2005, including nearly $3 billion in Nigeria, and said it planned to spend up to $2 billion more on the continent this year. -Reuters