Telecoms & IT

Syriatel and MTN’s revenues posted an increase last year, according to their preliminary disclosures. The two companies have monopolised Syria's telecommunication sector since they launched operations in 2002.

A new investigative report has linked Syria's third mobile phone operator to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Only 140 out of 1,000 mobile phone applications created by local companies are licensed in Syria despite repeated government attempts to regulate the sector.

Beijing signed an agreement with Damascus to donate communications equipment worth USD 30 million to Syria's Ministry of Communications.

The Syrian Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, the state entity that regulates telecom prices in the country, increased the service prices of MTN, Syriatel, and the state-owned Syrian Telecommunication Company by 50 percent.

New details about the deal between the government and Syria’s new third mobile telecommunications operator have emerged.

According to ownership records published by the Damascus Securities Exchange, Teleinvest is now a majority shareholder of MTN Syria after acquiring the shares of MTN Group’s subsidiary, Investcom, in a move that confirms the South African company’s final withdrawal from the country.

The government has awarded a mobile phone licence to a company jointly owned by the government and powerful regime-affiliated businessmen.

A massive transfer in the ownership of Syriatel, one of Syria’s largest companies, occurred last month. After the government reactivated the trading of the company's share in the Damascus Securities Exchange, record-high deals reflected a transfer of ownership in the company. Yet, little information is available on the company's new shareholding structure.

Last month, the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria announced plans to develop and improve internet services, revealing offers by telecom operators that may start replacing Turkish and Syrian ones. Meanwhile, in Northwest Syria, the Syrian Salvation Government has monopolised internet services. 

The announcement by South African telecommunication company MTN that it was leaving Syria is a good reminder of the high risks for foreign companies of doing business in the country.

Syria’s largest mobile operator, Syriatel, has announced the appointment of a new chairman in a series of changes to the board that mark the end of founder Rami Makhlouf’s ownership of the company, more than a year since he lost control of its management.

Syrian investors close to Asma Al-Assad and other powerful business figures have established a company that is set to become the country’s third telecom operator -- the first time a new player enters the lucrative sector since 2001.

Chinese technology giant Huawei has appointed new managers to its subsidiary in Syria, confirming its continued presence in the country despite reports it was considering quitting several years ago.

The Syrian government has imposed a temporary ban on mobile phone imports to preserve scarce foreign currency reserves. The decision favours influential businessmen who imported large volumes before the ban.

Syria’s second telecom operator MTN-Syria has been placed under the judicial custody of a minority stakeholder with reported links to the country’s First Lady Asma Al-Assad, as the government seeks to exert greater control over the company.

Syrian businessman Nader Qalei, a prominent member of the Sunni-Damascene business elite and regime supporter, died in Beirut last week after suffering from symptoms of Covid-19, local media reported.

The Syrian government is moving to more actively regulate e-commerce businesses and services in Syria following recent growth in the sector as more Syrians go online to order goods and services during the coronavirus pandemic.

Syria is planning to issue a long-awaited licence for a third telecoms operator at the beginning of next year, according to the country’s telecommunications minister.

New sanctions imposed on Syrian individuals by the United States could disrupt the MTN Group’s divestment from the country.