Syria has announced an international tender for a new mobile network operator licence to replace MTN Syria, the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The new licence clears the path for the formal departure of South Africa’s MTN Group, which abandoned its Syrian operations in 2021. MTN holds a 75% stake in MTN Syria.
The ministry officially launched a competitive bidding process that will run until June 15 during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Under the terms of the 20-year licence, the winning operator will acquire a 75% stake in the local telecom business, while Syria’s sovereign fund will retain the remaining 25%, the ministry said.
In a separate statement, MTN said its Group CEO, Ralph Mupita, met Syria’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdulsalam Haykal, on the sidelines of the conference. Both sides agreed on the company’s exit and indicated that it would be implemented “imminently.”
Neither MTN nor Syrian authorities clarified whether the company would receive payment for its 75% stake.
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In 2020, MTN announced plans to sell its 75% stake in MTN Syria to minority shareholder TeleInvest for $65 million. However, the transaction was never completed, and MTN withdrew from the business in 2021, citing regulatory measures and demands that made its continued presence “untenable.”
A court in Damascus had placed MTN Syria under guardianship over alleged breaches of licence obligations, which authorities said resulted in lost state revenue. MTN denied the allegations.
The company recorded a 4.7 billion rand ($287 million) loss following the “deconsolidation” of the subsidiary.
MTN, Africa’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, has largely pulled back from the Middle East as part of a broader strategy to concentrate on its African markets.
It has already sold its operations in Yemen and Afghanistan and is still seeking to divest its 49% stake in Iran, although that process has been delayed due to U.S. sanctions.
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Image Credit: The ICIR
