UAE's Etisalat has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Kuwait's Zain to study its assets, Reuters has reported, citing an industry source. The deal comes after almost a year of talks over Zain's sale of a stake which could be any or the Kharafi group's entire 14% stake in Zain, worth around $2.5bn. A stake in Zain would allow Etisalat to enter Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq.