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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 as MTC[1] |
| Headquarters |  Kuwait |
| Area served | 24 countries in Africa and the Middle East[2] |
| Key people | Dr.Saad Al Barrak, CEO Mr.Asaad Al Banwan, Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Barrak Al-Sabeeh, Assistant Group CEO for Business Development & Government Relations Mr.Sam Deeb, Chief Financial Officer Mr.Haitham Al Khaled, Chief Strategy Officer Mr.Khalid Al-Omar, Chief Technical Officer Mr. Ibrahim Adel, Chief Communications Officer Mr. Ahmed Abdelgelil, Chief Human Resources Officer Mr. Tito Alai, Chief Commercial Officer Mr.Mohammed Rafi, Chief Information Officer Mr. Mohammad Shabib, Group Chief Officer for International Carriers & Roaming Mrs. Lynne Dorward, Group Chief Regulatory Officer Mr. Salah Al Fouzan, Chief Business Development Officer Mr. Christopher Gabriel, CEO Africa Mr. Khaled Al Hajeri, CEO of Zain in Kuwait Mr.Mahmoud Hashish, CEO Middle East [3] Dr. Abdel Malik Al Jaber CEO of Zain Levant Region [4] |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Products | Mobile Telecommunications, Fixed Lines Broadband and Internet |
| Revenue | ▲ 7,441 Billion USD (2008)[5] |
| Net income | ▲ 1,196 Billion USD (2008)[5] |
| Employees | 15,000+ (2008)[6] |
| Website | www.zain.com |
Zain (Arabic: زين), is a mobile telecommunication company based in Kuwait, founded in 1983 as Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), and was later rebranded 'Zain' in 2007. Zain operates in 24 countries, 8 of them are in the Middle east, and 15 countries in Africa. It's employees are estimated 15,000 as of June 30, 2009.[7] Additionally, Zain owns 31% of Wana Telecom in Morocco through a joint venture.
Contents |
Services
Zain offeres 2G Mobile voice and Data Services, on a GSM standard, as well as 3.5G
List of Countries
Zain operates in the following countries:
Financial Information
Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange[9]. On September 20, 2008, Zain announced it's capital increase with $4.49 billion (Kuwait Dinars 1.2 billion), the subscribed shares exceeded 1.4 billion, bringing Zain shares to 4.28 billion with total equity of $6.42 billion. As of June 30, 2009, Zain has a base of customers of 69.5 million active users. A 37% increase since 2008.
One Network
Zain announced a service called “One Network”, described by Zain as ‘’the world’s-first, borderless mobile service to its users in all regions”. The company meant it’s service as a “cost-effective and convenient solution designed to fit customers’ regional and continent-wide communications needs by taking advantage of Zain Group’s unique pan-Middle East and pan-African presence.” At first, It announced that it will link four of its Middle East country operations into a single network for users.
The One Network offering would allow pre- and post-paid customers in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Sudan to automatically access their normal phone service at local rates when visiting any of the other three countries in the network. Users will only pay their usual rates for outgoing calls and will not be charged for incoming calls. Dr Saad Al Barrak, CEO of Zain Group said: "This truly is a defining moment in the history of the Middle East and global telecommunications and a major step forward in Zain's intent to become a top-ten global mobile operator by 2011. The launch of One Network in the Middle East helps fulfill our promise to deliver to our customers a unique and rewarding Zain brand experience through the products and services we offer."[10] It is now offered to its covered area except Lebanon and Zambia. The service is subject to governmental and regulatory approvals. Zain has already launched a similar service across 12 countries in Africa. [11] Zain also announced in May 2009 that it will launch a cross-border data services across the Middle East and Africa. So far, Only Kuwait has Data Roaming.
Zap
Zap is a service from Zain that would allow a user to send/receive airtime, make purchases or carry out transactions without the need to wield paper money. This service is sponsored by CitiBank, Standard Chartered Bank and Western Union. This service is available only in certain African countries: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It's accessed via SIM card option. Zap is "secured" by a password each time a transaction is carried out.
Zap is a financial assistant Tool that helps carrying out daily bank actions, such as paying bills, sending airtime, etc… Zain users sign-up to the service by completing a form and sending it to Zain agents. It will use their mobile phone in much the same way as a bank account debit card. Zain announced that its service is compatible with low-end handsets. Zain announced that it will co-operate with Western Union to enable money transfer from Western union customers all over the world to Zain customers in (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Niger and Nigeria).
Controversy
Zain Kenya CEO, Rene Menza commented in a press event a week ago that CBK was frustrating the mobile service operator’s efforts to launch the service. It did not help matters when the Treasury placed an advert in Sunday Newspapers endorsing M-Pesa, only two days after Menza had complained of his companies frustrations. Central Bank had slotted in a meeting with Standard Chartered bank which has been at the center of the Zap impasse. Apparently the Central Bank had raised questions regarding Zaps safeguards in the partnership between Zain and Standard Chartered. Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) was forced to buy advertising space in the local dailies to explain its position on the delay in licensing Zap. Zain CEO said Zap was experiencing regulatory delays mainly at Central Bank for unclear reasons, and that the company was considering avenues of fighting off the delays. “One of the avenues we are exploring is legal action,” said Meza. The public spat with the Central Bank has earned Zain some publicity. When Zain took over Celtel, the directors promised to shake up the mobile services market and it did with its low cost tariffs. On this front the company launched aggressive marketing campaigns with lower tariffs forcing competitors to rework their rates. On the raging controversy over Zap, the Central Bank points to the fact that Zain has not placed any application to the bank regarding the mobile transfer service: “The application under consideration by the Central Bank is from a commercial bank that proposes to partner with Zain in providing a mobile banking and payment solution.
The advert further explains that; “The application has already been reviewed in accordance with statutory and prudential requirements governing licensed banks. Similar due diligence as was also applied to (Safaricom’s) M-Pesa. [12]
Milestones
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This section is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this section from a neutral point of view. (October 2009) |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1983 | MTC established as the first mobile telecom company in the region. |
| 1994 | Introduced GSM in Kuwait. |
| 2001 | Government of Kuwait reduced stake from 49% to 25%. |
| September 2002 | Branding agreement with Vodafone in Kuwait- operator rebranded as MTC Vodafone. |
| January 2003 | Acquired 91.5% of Fastlink- Jordan’s leading mobile operator for US$424 million taking total holding to 96.5%. |
| April 2003 | Acquired 2nd GSM license in Bahrain- operator branded as MTC Vodafone. |
| December 2003 | Acquired one of three GSM licenses in Iraq –operator rebranded as MTC-Atheer. |
| December 2003 | Bahrain Operator launches 3G networking. |
| April 2004 | Awarded management agreement for one of Lebanon’s mobile operators – Operator rebranded as MTC-Touch. |
| May 2005 | Acquisition of 85% of Celtel shares for US$2.84 billion completed. |
| November 16, 2005 | MTC completes 100% capital increase through rights issue raising $2.3 billion to fund future expansion. |
| December 13, 2005 | MTC subsidiary Celtel acquires Madacom, an operator based in Madagascar. |
| February 6, 2006 | MTC subsidiary Celtel acquires the remaining 61% of Mobitel in Sudan from Sudatel in deal valued $1.332 billion, thus taking ownership to 100%. |
| February 15, 2006 | MTC launches a research report “Socio-Economic Impact of Mobile Phones in the Arab World”. |
| May 21, 2006 | MTC launches 3.5G (HSDPA) commercially in Bahrain. |
| May 31, 2006 | MTC subsidiary Celtel acquires a controlling stake of 65% in Vmobile, one of Nigeria’s mobile telecom operators with over 5 million customers for US$1.005 billion. |
| Sept 27, 2006 | MTC subsidiary Celtel International, an African mobile telecommunications operator launched One Network. |
| December 31, 2006 | MTC Group of companies full-year consolidated revenues reach KD 1.21 billion (USD 4.167 billion) for the 12 months ended December 31, 2006, an increase of 109% over the same period in 2005 and consolidated net income of KD 305.3.06 million (USD 1.051 Billion), an increase of 65% compared to the same period last year. |
| January 30, 2007 | MTC launches ACE -an implementation strategy to realize the target of the 3x3x3 vision. ACE seeks to extract superior value from existing assets through three main thrusts: Accelerating the growth in Africa; Consolidating the existing assets; and Expanding into adjacent markets. Through implementation of the ACE strategy, MTC’s new goals by the year 2011 are to attain a US$ 6 Billion EBITDA exceeding 70 million customers and to become one of the top ten leading telecom companies in the world by market capitalization. |
| March 24, 2007 | The MTC-led consortium announces that it has been successful in making the highest bid for the third mobile telecommunications license in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia having bid SAR•22.91 billion (US$6.109 billion). The acquisition of the license is subject to approval from the KSA’s Council of Ministers. This license will give MTC a presence in the largest market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”) in terms of population and the largest economy in the Middle East and Africa, reinforcing MTC’s position as a leading emerging markets operator. |
| August 17, 2007 | MTC Atheer secures 15-year nationwide Iraq mobile license for US$1.25 billion. |
| September 8, 2007 | MTC Group's master-brand and four operations in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Sudan rebrand to Zain. |
| October 22, 2007 | Celtel International announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 75% of Western Telesystems Ltd (Westel) from the Government of Ghana for USD 120 million. The Government of Ghana remains a shareholder in Westel with a 25% holding through the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. |
| November 22, 2007 | Zain subsidiary Celtel International announces the extension of ‘One Network’ to an additional six countries to include Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan. These countries now join the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in the network which was initially launched in September 2006 and has been expanded due to increased demand. The extension now offers the possibility for nearly half of Africa’s population to make calls at local rates across 12 countries throughout the continent. |
| December 1, 2007 | MTC-Atheer in Iraq Acquired Iraqna for US$1.2 billion from Orascom telecoms holding. Zain's market share in Iraq is figured up to 72% (7 million subscribers). The new combined mobile network is rebranded Zain Iraq, and the two older networks (Iraqna and Atheer) are defunct. |
| January 5, 2008 | Two Iraqi mobile telecommunications networks - MTC Atheer and Iraqna - change their names to Zain as both operators adopt the new corporate brand of the Zain Group. |
| January 30, 2008 | Zain announces that in the fiscal year 2007 it recorded the highest ever net profits in the history of Kuwait's private sector history. Zain recorded consolidated revenues of USD 5.91 billion (KD1.677 billion) for 2007, an increase of 32% compared to 2006. The consolidated EBITDA increased by 25% compared to last year and reached USD 2.56 billion (KD 725.34 million). Zain also announced a milestone consolidated net income of US$1.130 billion (KD320.45 million) an increase of 11% on 2006. Active Customers grew impressively and reached 42.4 million (inclusive of 3 million Iraqna customers, acquired on December 31, 2007), an increase of 57% on 2006. |
| August 1, 2008 | Zain group rebrands its Africa operations from "Celtel" to "Zain" in line with its objectives of operating under one brand in all the 22 countries.[13] |
| September 20, 2008 | Zain announces the successful completion of its capital increase raising US$4.49 billion (KWD1.2 billion) with 99% of all shareholders subscribing. This was the largest ever capital raising in Kuwait’s history. The proceeds of this capital increase will be used to finance future strategic expansion plans and meet financial commitments. |
| December 15, 2008 | Zain announces the commencement of commercial services in Ghana with the launch of the first 3.5G network on the continent outside South Africa with US$ 420 million invested in network infrastructure. |
| March 1, 2009 | Zain announces its consolidated financial results for the year ending December 31,2008 with consolidated revenues of US$ 7.44 billion, an increase of 26% compared to 2007. The company’s consolidated EBITDA increased by 15% for the same period to reach US$ 2.78 billion. Consolidated net profits reached US$ 1.2 billion, an increase of 6% on 2007. The earnings per share was US$0.33 and the shareholders equity was up 36% to US $8.69 billion. Year on year customer growth across the two continents in which Zain operates was 50% with the Zain Group serving 63.54 million managed active customers at 31 December, 2008. |
| March 14, 2009 | Zain in a 50/50 partnership with Al Ajial Investment Fund Holding (“Al Ajial”) has agreed to invest through a newly established joint venture “Zain Al Ajial” an amount of MAD 2.850 billion (USD 324 million) in return for 31% of Wana Corporate SA (“Wana”), the third mobile telecom operator in Morocco. |
| May 18, 2009 | Jordan, Mobile Telecommunications Company (“Zain”) and Palestinian Telecommunications Company (“Paltel”) have entered into an agreement for a share-for-share exchange, which will make Zain take a major interest in Paltel with an equity shareholding of 56.53% in exchange for Paltel owning 100% of Zain Jordan. Paltel is a publicly-listed entity on the Palestinian Stock Exchange and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The merger will set the current Paltel shareholders equity position in both Paltel and its newly acquired subsidiary, Zain Jordan at 41.43%. |
| July 21, 2009 | Zain announces its consolidated financial results for the half-year ending 30 June 2009. The results showed significant growth in many key indicators recording impressive consolidated revenues of KWD 1.16 billion (US$4.014 billion), an increase of 24.1% compared to H1-2008. The company’s consolidated EBITDA increased by 46.3% for the same period to reach KWD 512.2 million (US$1.77 billion). Consolidated net income reached KWD 154.5 million (US$533.5 million), an increase of 4.4% on H1-2008. The earnings per share for the six month period were US$0.14. Year-on-year customer growth on the two continents across which Zain operates was 37%, while serving 69.5 million active customers. |
References
- ^ a b Milestones Zain.com
- ^ Worldwide Presence Zain.com
- ^ Zain Management Zain.com
- ^ [1] Zain.com
- ^ a b Financial Highlights For December 31, 2008 Zain.com
- ^ Overview Zain.com
- ^ http://www.ameinfo.com/204464.html
- ^ http://www.zain.com/muse/obj/lang.default/portal.view/content/Media%20centre/Press%20releases/ZainLebanonContract
- ^ Official page of Kuwait Stock Exchange listing Zain as Mobile Telecommunication Company
- ^ http://www.arabianbusiness.com/516542-zain-to-create-one-network-for-middle-east-operations
- ^ http://www.ameinfo.com/153391.html
- ^ http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=2198
- ^ http://www.ametw.com/free_news_AfricanOperators.html#Zain1
External links
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