UPDATE 1-Vodafone Qatar sees new IPO date set in Feb

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By Raissa Kasolowsky

DUBAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Qatari unit of Vodafone Group (VOD.L) expects the capital markets regulator to set a new date for its delayed initial public offering next month, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Vodafone had planned to sell a 40 percent stake in the operator last October, but did not get the required approvals from the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA).

"Because of market conditions the QFMA told us to hold off and propose a new date, which we did," the spokeswoman told Reuters.

The group had suggested holding the IPO before Nov. 30, "but we haven't been given the go-ahead," she said. "We will be given a date next month."

Vodafone Qatar was still on track to turn on its mobile phone network on March 1, the spokeswoman said, adding that the network would have a capacity of 1 million customers.

"We will have customers on the first day but we don't know how many. It will be a phased launch approach," she said.

The company will compete with state-controlled Qatar Telecommunications Co QTEL.QA (Qtel), which until now had run the country's only mobile and fixed-line networks.