MTN Group has confirmed that the R716‑million settlement it received from Syria to exit its 25% shareholding does not represent a full recovery of the billions it poured into the country over two decades.
The telecommunications giant announced this week that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian government, represented by the Telecommunication and Post Regulatory Authority, to settle outstanding matters tied to its investment.
MTN entered Syria in 2002 by acquiring Investcom’s “Areeba” mobile operation, becoming one of only two national operators in the country. Four years later, it acquired Investcom outright in a $5.5‑billion deal, which expanded its footprint across several Middle Eastern markets.
The outbreak of civil war in 2011, combined with tightening regulations, eroded the viability of MTN’s operations. In 2020, the group sold its 75% stake in MTN Syria to minority partner TeleInvest Ltd.
The next year, Syrian authorities accused MTN of breaching licence conditions and placed the company under judicial guardianship.
MTN president and CEO Ralf Mupita told Sunday World said the guardianship and regulatory demands made continued operation “untenable”, forcing MTN to abandon its business in the country.
“These actions included the appointment of a judicial guardian for MTN Syria, which led to MTN losing management control of the operation,” he said.
The Syria exit is part of MTN’s broader withdrawal from the Middle East, a region once central to its expansion strategy. The group has exited Yemen and Afghanistan, leaving only its 49% stake in MTN Irancell as its last exposure in the region.
That investment has been crippled by US sanctions, which bar Iran from the global Swift payment system, making it impossible for MTN to repatriate funds or find buyers.
The group reported a R3.9bn impairment on Irancell in the first half of 2026, citing the collapse of the Iranian rial and worsening conflict in the region. The impairment dragged down MTN’s associates and joint ventures by 295%.
“The escalation of the conflict in Iran in the first half of 2026 impacted the operational performance of Irancell.
“However, the deterioration of the Iranian rial exchange rate and an increase in the discount factor have placed significant pressure on discounted future cash flows compared to the hyperinflation‑adjusted net assets of Irancell,” the group said in its interim report.
Tension escalated further in January when Irancell CEO Alireza Rafiei was dismissed after failing to shut down communications during US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Sanctions have made MTN’s Iranian investment virtually dormant. The exclusion of Iran from Swift has frozen MTN’s ability to extract money or structure a sale. Potential buyers face insurmountable hurdles in completing transactions, leaving MTN stuck with an asset it cannot monetise.
The Middle East conflict, in its sixth month, has disrupted global energy and financial markets, compounding MTN’s difficulties.
With its Middle Eastern exit strategy in tow, MTN is doubling down on Africa, where its Momo mobile money platform has become a growth engine. Transactions hit $330bn in the review period, underscoring the scale of financial inclusion opportunities across the continent.
While the group is dominant in West Africa, it faces stiffer competition from Vodacom for the lucrative Eastern African market. Vodacom has completed a $2.1bn acquisition of an additional 20% stake in Kenya’s Safaricom, raising its ownership to about 55%. The majority control cements its dominance in East Africa, enabling it to consolidate Safaricom’s financial results and expand in Kenya and Ethiopia.
The group has 237.3 million mobile subscribers across Africa, with 103 million financial services customers mainly through M-Pesa, its mobile money operation.
Mupita said MTN sees “tremendous growth opportunities” in digital solutions and financial services, particularly in East Africa.
“We are very strong in West Africa, with a good footprint in Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. We have a very solid foundation with our Southern Africa business. In East Africa we are there — we have Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda — but over time we have been clear: if we want to grow in the next five to 10 years, East Africa is a compelling growth opportunity to explore long term,” he said.
- MTN Group has confirmed that the R716‑million settlement it received from Syria to exit its 25% shareholding does not represent a full recovery of the billions it poured into the country over two decades.
- The telecommunications giant announced this week that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian government, represented by the Telecommunication and Post Regulatory Authority, to settle outstanding matters tied to its investment.
- MTN entered Syria in 2002 by acquiring Investcom’s “Areeba” mobile operation, becoming one of only two national operators in the country.
- Four years later, it acquired Investcom outright in a $5.5‑billion deal, which expanded its footprint across several Middle Eastern markets.
- The outbreak of civil war in 2011, combined with tightening regulations, eroded the viability of MTN’s operations.
