2020. 08. 18.

African telecom giant to exit Iran over 'complexities'

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African telecom giant to exit Iran over 'complexities'

MTN Group also plans to leave Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan
Syed Zafar Mehdi   | 11.08.2020


TEHRAN

Dragging feet for a long time, South African telecom giant, the MTN Group, has announced its
planned exit from the sanctions-hit Iranian market in the next three to five years. 

The group has 49% shares in the country’s second largest mobile operator, MTN Irancell,

which boosts of 50 million active users and has been a pioneer in 4G mobile services in Iran
since 2016.

It also has investments in popular Iranian digital businesses like ride-hailing app Snapp, and e-
commerce marketplace start-up Bamilo.

Shifting its focus from Central Asia and the Middle East to Africa, the group has announced
plans to leave the region “in an orderly manner,” starting with Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and
then Iran.

While it had been able to maintain good business in the Iranian market, the Africa’s largest
mobile carrier has struggled to take money out of Iran due to complexities created by US
sanctions.

Senior officials at MTN Irancell told Anadolu Agency that service revenues and data sales had
seen a marked growth in last one year, unlike many other loss-making companies. However,
economic sanctions and resulting complexities have prompted the business to call it quits.

The Johannesburg-based company is said to have about 3 billion Rand in loans and profits
trapped in Iran, according to group’s chief financial officer Ralph Mupita.

The group had managed to take out $1 billion before the US government reinstated economic
sanctions on Iran in May 2018, following its unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.

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2020. 08. 18. African telecom giant to exit Iran over 'complexities'

CEO Rob Shuter told reporters this week that the company was realigning its focus towards
African continent, and winding up operations from the Middle East where the environment is 
becoming “increasingly complex."

The group also owns a 43% share in Snapp, which clocks over two million rides a day beside
courier and food deliveries.

Meanwhile, MTN Irancell has already started looking for potential investors from the Iranian
diaspora. Chief executive officer Bijan Abbasi Arand told state TV in April that the company
was looking at opportunities to rope in potential investors to keep the business moving.

The US sanctions have forced many international businesses to scale back their operations in
Iran, fearing huge losses.

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2020. 08. 18. African telecom giant to exit Iran over 'complexities'

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