MTN Group exits Yemen

MTN Group says it has exited its operation in Yemen in a transaction that furthers the delivery of its Ambition 2025 strategy and is in line with its intention – announced in August 2020 – to leave the Middle East. Yemen, although it is geographically located in Africa, was part of the group’s Middle Eastern operations, and the country has been mired in conflict since an uprising against the government a decade ago, which triggered a continuing civil war. 

Effective 17 November 2021, MTN Group, the largest African mobile operator, said it transferred its majority shareholding in MTN Yemen to Emerald International Investment LCC. Emerald is a subsidiary of Zubair Investment Center LLC, an affiliate of Zubair Corporation LLC, which is the minority shareholder in MTN Yemen.

MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said: “The decision to exit Yemen was driven by a need to simplify the portfolio and focus our limited resources on executing a pan-African strategy. We would like to thank the 719 employees of MTN Yemen for their commitment over the years, and the 4.7 million subscribers of MTN Yemen for their custom and trust in the brand. We wish Emerald well in the next phase of development of this business as they work with the team that served MTN well over the years.”

In August 2020, MTN Group announced plans to focus on its pan-African strategy and exit the Middle East over the medium term, to simplify its portfolio and reduce risk. In the first half of 2021, MTN Yemen contributed 0.3% to MTN Group EBITDA. MTN Group held 82.8% of the shares in MTN Yemen, whose operating licence for its 2G network is due for renewal at the end of 2021.