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Zain Group

Type	Public company
Industry	Telecommunication
Founded	1983 as MTC[1]
Area served	8 countries in the Middle East and North Africa
Key people	Scott Gegenheimer, Chief Executive of Zain Group
Products	Mobile Telecommunications, Fixed Lines Broadband and Internet
Revenue	US$4.58 billion (2012)[2]
Net income	US$902 million (2012)[2]
Owner(s)	24.24% is owned by Kuwait Investment Authority; 16.26% is owned by Al-Khair National for Stocks & Real Estate Co; only shareholders that own above 5% are disclosed
Employees	6,000 (as of 31 December 2012)
Website	zain.com

Zain Group is a mobile telecommunications company founded in 1983 in Kuwait as MTC or Mobile Telecommunications Company, and was later rebranded to Zain in 2007. Zain has commercial presence in 8 countries across the Middle East and North Africa with about 42.7 million customers as of 31 December 2012. It employs over 6000 people.^[3]

Operations [edit]

Zain has presence in the following countries:

Country	Site	Remarks
Bahrain	bh.zain.com	Zain started operations in the Kingdom of Bahrain in December 2003 as MTC-Vodafone. Since then, it has introduced 4G LTE, 3.5G and WIMAX services to the Kingdom. Zain’s network covers 100% of the Bahraini population.
Iraq	iq.zain.com	Zain has provided mobile services in Iraq since December 2003. After securing a 15-year license in August 2007, Zain acquired Iraqna’s network, becoming the largest mobile operator in Iraq with over 13 million customers.
Jordan	jo.zain.com	In 1994, Zain in Jordan, formerly Fastlink, was the first to introduce mobile services in the country. In 2003, it was the first to join what is now the Zain Group’s Middle East portfolio.
Kuwait	kw.zain.com	Zain in Kuwait is the Group's flagship operation, which was established in 1983 and in 1994 became the first telecom operator to launch commercial GSM services in the region and now offers 4G LTE.[4]
Lebanon	touch.com.lb	In June 2004, Zain won a four-year management contract to operate one of Lebanon’s two GSM networks, rebranded to touch, which has subsequently been renewed.[5]
Morocco	inwi.ma	On 14 March 2009, Zain in a 50/50 partnership with Al Ajial Investment Fund Holding acquired 31% of Wana Corporate SA INWI (formerly known as Wana) in Morocco.
Saudi Arabia	sa.zain.com	Zain launched its commercial operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 26 August 2008, a year after it was awarded its mobile license. The Group holds management control of the operation through its 37% ownership stake. Zain Saudi Arabia also offers 4G LTE services.
South Sudan	sd.zain.com	Zain is the No. 1 operator in South Sudan.
Sudan	sd.zain.com	In February 2006, Zain acquired the remaining 61% stake of Mobitel, Sudan’s first mobile operator, in a deal valued at $1.332 billion, resulting in 100% ownership. The company was rebranded to Zain in September 2007 and subsequently renewed its license in Sudan for a period of 20 years.

Presence in Africa (2005-2010) [edit]

From 2005 to 2010, Zain maintained a presence in a number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to its core market in the MENA region.

Zain entered Africa in May 2005 through the $3.4 billion purchase of Celtel International which had 13 country operations in Africa, serving five million customers at that time. Zain invested heavily across the continent through network upgrades and acquiring two more country licences. By June 2010, Zain had over 40 million customers across the continent, operating in Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

In early 2010, Zain accepted an offer for the sale of all its Africa operations. On 8 June 2010, Zain announced that it had satisfied all required conditions precedent to closing of the sale of 100% of Zain Africa BV to Bharti Airtel Limited for $10.7 billion on an enterprise basis.^[6]

Financial Highlights [edit]

Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. There are no restrictions on Zain shares as the company’s capital is 100% free float and publicly traded. The largest shareholder is the Kuwait Investment Authority (24.24%).

For the 12 months in 2012, Zain Group generated consolidated revenues of USD 4.58 billion (KD 1.28 billion) compared to 2011 consolidated revenues of USD 4.79 billion (KD 1.32 billion). EBITDA for the same period amounted to USD 2.04 billion (KD 570.7 million) reflecting an EBITDA margin of 44.5%. Net Income amounted to USD 902 million (KD 252.1 million), compared to 2011 net income of USD 1.033 billion (KD 284.9 million). Earnings per share for the 12 months stood at USD 0.23 (KD 0.065), compared to USD 0.27 (KD 0.073) in the previous year. Additionally, shareholders equity stood at USD 6.1 billion (KD 1.7 billion). Subsequently, the Board of Directors recommended a cash dividend of USD 0.18 (KD 0.050) per share subject to the Annual General Assembly and regulatory approvals.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Zain Corporate Website
• Zain Career Portal
• Zain related articles