Tunisia sells telecom stakes owned by Ben Ali kin

The Tunisian government will sell off stakes once held by a relative of ousted strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a mobile phone operator and a car dealership, a finance ministry official said on Thursday. Selim Besbes, secretary of state at the finance ministry, told reporters that a call for international tenders will be issued on Friday for stakes in mobile operator Tunisiana and the Ennakl Automobiles dealership. The state will seek to sell a 25 percent stake in Tunisiana and 59 percent stake in Ennakl, which were both once held by Sakher El Materi, a son-in-law of Ben Ali. The offer closes on November 2 for Tunisiana and at the end of the year for Ennakl -- agents in Tunisia for German carmaker Volkswagen. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia in January 2011, ousted from power by a massive popular uprising that ended his 23-year autocratic rule. Other relatives also fled the country in the aftermath of the uprising. El Materi is said to be in Qatar.