China's Huawei Technologies is in talks with Etisalat and Saudi Telecom to manage their fixed-line networks, an executive said, potentially cementing its leadership of a $ 1 billion regional industry.

Huawei, the world's second-top telecom gear maker, is also in talks with several Middle East operators, Huawei Middle East vice-president for delivery and service Xia Chaojie said.

"Huawei has strong partnerships with most regional operators and is looking into ways of expanding them," he said.

"We see an opportunity to do this through moving towards new technologies and looking at fixed-line managed services."

Etisalat is a former monopoly in the UAE, while managed services refers to operators outsourcing maintenance of networks to a third party.

The practice is increasingly common in the Middle East, allowing operators to focus on marketing and customer services to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Outsourcing network maintenance typically cuts companies' operating costs by 13 per cent to 20pc, he said.

The Middle East's managed services sector was worth $ 1bn last year, he said, adding Huawei's market share was 55pc. He forecast sector revenue would grow around 18pc over the next two to three years.