Zain Group

For other uses, see Zain Group (disambiguation).

Zain Group

File:Zain logo.png
Company type	Public
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1983 as MTC
Area served	7 countries in Africa and the Middle East
Products	Mobile Telecommunications, Fixed Lines Broadband and Internet
Revenue	US$4.72 billion (2010)
Net income	US$3.675 billion (including capital gain) (2010)
Owner	24.6% is owned by Kuwait Investment Authority; 12.67% is owned by Al-Khair National for Stocks & Real Estate Co; only shareholders that own above 5% are disclosed
Number of employees	6,000 (as of 31 December 2010)
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 7 countries across Africa and the Middle East with about 37.2 million customers as of December 31, 2010. It employs 6000 people.

Presence in Africa

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 June 8, 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.

Operations

Zain operates in the following countries:

Country	Site	Remarks
Bahrain	http://www.bh.zain.com	Zain started operations in the Kingdom of Bahrain in December 2003 as MTC-Vodafone. Since then, it has introduced 3.5G, WIMAX and ‘One Network’ services to Kingdom. Zain’s network covers 100% of the Bahraini population for both 2G and 3G services.
Iraq	http://www.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. The Zain Group subsequently increased its ownership from 30% to 72% to assume majority control in 2008.
Jordan	http://www.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	http://www.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.
Lebanon	http://www.mtctouch.com.lb	In June 2004, Zain won a four-year management contract to operate one of Lebanon’s two GSM networks, rebranded to mtc touch, which has subsequently been renewed.
Morocco	http://www.inwi.ma/	On March 14, 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	http://www.sa.zain.com	Zain launched its commercial operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on August 26, 2008, a year after it was awarded its mobile license. The Group holds management control of the operation through its 25% ownership stake.
Sudan	http://www.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.

Financial Highlights

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 (24.6%).

On September 20, 2008, Zain Group announced the completion of its capital increase raising US$4.49 billion (KWD1.2 billion) with 29% of all shareholders subscribing. The number of subscribed shares exceeded 1.4 billion, bringing the total number of Zain shares to 4.28 billion with total shareholders’ equity reaching US$6.42 billion.

2010

Zain's consolidated financial results for the twelve months ending 31 December 2010 showed an impressive growth in several key performance indicators, with a consolidated net profit of $3.675 billion.

Zain Group recorded impressive consolidated revenues of KWD 1.35 billion (US$ 4.72 billion), an increase of 7% compared to the 12 months of 2009. The company’s consolidated EBITDA increased by 6% for the same period to reach KWD 616 million (US$ 2.15 billion) reflecting an EBITDA margin of 46%, with EBIT rising 4% to reach KWD 449 million (US$1.57 billion).

Consolidated Net Income reached KWD 1.063 billion (US$3.675 billion), an increase of 445%, that is inclusive of the capital gain of KWD 770.3 million (US$ 2.653 billion) from the sale of Zain Africa assets on June 8, 2010. If the capital gain from the Africa Assets sale is not taken in account, net income reached KWD 293 million (US$1.022 billion) for the year, representing a notable 50% increase on 2009 net income of KWD 195 million (US $675 million).

One Network

Zain's One Network is the world’s first, borderless mobile service offering over 64 million Zain customers in 21 countries favorable rates, free of high roaming charges for cross-border communications. Zain's One Network service replaced roaming in the following countries: Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Chad, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Zain announced in May 2009, the launch of cross-border data services across the Middle East and Africa on the One Network platform.

Zain Create

Zain Create, Zain’s entertainment portal, provides customers with access to entertainment they can preview and download onto mobile phones and laptops. Available in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, Zain Create offers full-track audio and video downloads, pre-releases, video and audio streaming, in addition to java and online games. Music is selected from local, regional and international artists through exclusive partnerships with major international labels such as Rotana.

External links

• Zain Portal
• Zain Career Portal
• NigerianBulletin.Com - Zain related articles