Emirates Post, the state-owned UAE monopoly postal service, said it is in talks to spend as much as 1.5 billion dirhams ($408.4 million) on acquisitions in Asia, including Malaysia and Singapore.

"We want to expand our network of distribution, which is why we are interested in Asia because ... it completes our market," the chairman of Emirates Post, Abdulla al-Daboos, told Reuters in Dubai on Sunday on the sidelines of a meeting with reporters.

"Our investment will be between 1 billion and 1.5 billion dirhams over five years on acquisitions in Asian companies in postal and financial services," Daboos said.

Daboos did not identify any target companies. Other countries include Thailand and Indonesia, he said.

Empost plans to sell as much as a 40 percent stake in an initial public offering in the second-half, valuing the company at not less than 3 billion dirhams, al-Khaleej and Emirates Business reported this month, citing Daboos and Sultan al-Mansouri, Minister of Governmental Sector Development. - Reuters