Investment of $1.5 billion.. Kuwait's Zain enters the telecommunications market in Syria

 Kuwait's Zain Telecommunications Company has been granted a license to operate a mobile phone network in Syria, while Bloomberg reported that the value of the investment exceeds $1.5 billion.

Under a 20-year license, Zain will own a 75 percent stake in local operations, while Syria's sovereign fund will own the remaining 25 percent, the sources said.

Zain will acquire MTN Syria's infrastructure, buildings and equipment, which has been operating in the country for more than two decades, two sources said.

Zain Completes Inspection of MTN Towers and Equipment

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Zain engineers recently completed a field survey of MTN Syria's network, which included an inspection of telecom towers, backup power generators, solar power plants and telecommunications equipment across the country.

MTN announced in March that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian government to officially end its operations in the country after the company abandoned operations in 2021, attributing this to regulatory measures and government demands that made its continued presence impossible.

MTN entered the Syrian market in 2002 and, following the fall of the Assad regime, the company's ownership was transferred to the Syrian Sovereign Wealth Fund established by the new government.

The biggest investment since the fall of the regime

Kuwait's Zain Group plans to invest more than $1.5 billion in Syria, the largest foreign investment since the ouster of the Assad regime, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Under the agreement, Zain will pay $747 million for the operating license, while the new operator will spend about $800 million to develop Syria's mobile network infrastructure, including the introduction of 5G services, while the Syrian government will retain a 25% stake in the license, which was  previously owned by MTN, Africa's largest cellular communications company.

However, a spokesman for the Zain Group could not comment on the matter, while the Syrian Ministry of Communications declined to make any statement.