Kuwait’s biggest telco, Zain – under offer for 46% of its shares from the UAE’s Etisalat – has said it will not sell its Sudanese unit.
If the transaction goes through, both Etisalat and Zain will have Sudanese operations.
Nabeel bin Salama, Zain’s CEO,…
Kuwait’s biggest telco, Zain – under offer for 46% of its shares from the UAE’s Etisalat – has said it will not sell its Sudanese unit.
If the transaction goes through, both Etisalat and Zain will have Sudanese operations.
Nabeel bin Salama, Zain’s CEO, speaking at the release of his company’s latest financial results, said: “We consider Sudan to be one of our strategic companies. We have no intention to sell at all.”
Zain Sudan, formerly known as Mobitel, began as a JV between Zain and state-owned Sudatel. Mobitel was 100% acquired by Zain in February 2006, and rebranded Zain Sudan. It is the largest mobile operator in the country, and was the one African asset not sold to Bharti Airtel of India earlier this year.
Canar is a JV between Etisalat and a number of Sudanese parties. It is the largest fixed-line operator in Sudan, and Etisalat is its majority stakeholder. Etisalat is also a major shareholder in Sudatel.
Zain posted a 96% rise in net profit for its third-quarter, boosted by a sharp increase in customer numbers.
In the third quarter, Zain received US$295.4m (E210m) from Bharti Airtel as part of the sale of its African assets, which were a major contributor to the company’s profitability. Net income in the three months to September 30 was KD80.7m (US$286m). The company also said it had repaid most of its debt from the proceeds of the sale of its Africa assets to Bharti.
