Zain Group increases stake in Zain Iraq by 32%

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Zain Group has increased its ownership stake in Zain Iraq by 32 percent following a deal with the Bahraini Athir National to buy its stake for over $34 million, a Jordanian newspaper said on Monday. The leading mobile telecom company, Zain Group, has acquired a majority stake of 62 percent in Zain Iraq, according to the Jordanian al-Ra’i. The newspaper quoted the chief executive officer of Zain Group, Saad al-Barrak, as saying that the deal will boost the company’s profits in the Iraqi market. Zain Iraq is a mobile phone operator in Iraq owned by the Zain group. The company was formed in December 2007 after Zain purchased Iraqna from Orascom Telecom for US$1.2 billion, and merged it with its existing Iraqi operator MTC Atheer. Zain Group (formerly MTC or Mobile Telecommunications Company) is Multinational Corporation specializing in Mobile Telecommunications. Its area of operations include the 7 countries in the Middle East, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan ,and in Lebanon as mtc touch, and in 15 sub-Saharan countries in Africa Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon,Ghana Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. SS (S) 2