Zain Group is reported to have selected a former minister of communication to replace Saad Al-Barrak as the company’s managing director, following Barrak’s resignation earlier this week.

“Former minister of communication Nabil bin Salama has been chosen as the chief executive,” Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas reported.

Yesterday Zain said in a statement that the operator’s chairman would convene the board of directors at the soonest convenient time to deliberate on the matter.

It is understood that Zain’s board met today to discuss Al-Barrak’s resignation

Zain this afternoon confirmed that Saad Al Barrak, managing director/ deputy chairman, Zain Group has submitted his resignation to Asaad Al Banwan, chairman of the board of directors of Zain. The company said in a statement that the chairman will now convene the board at the soonest convenient time to deliberate on the matter. Zain has notified the Kuwait Stock Exchange and will immediately inform all stakeholders on any future and relevant updates.

The chief executive officer of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications, Zain, has resigned, according to reports by Al Arabiya television, citing unidentified sources.

Comm. contacted a Zain spokesperson for confirmation of the resignation, and was told, “No comment” earlier this afternoon.

Speculation regarding Al Barrak’s future at Zain began to mount last September after leading investors in Zain Group signed an agreement with a Malaysian-Indian consortium for the sale of a 46 per cent stake in the Kuwait mobile operator group. The agreement had been negotiated and entered into by Zain shareholders, with little-to-no input from Zain’s executive management, led by Al Barrak, a situation that is believed to have frustrated the CEO immensely.

Etisalat announced today it has bought the remaining shares of African operator Atlantique Telecom for US$75 million thereby gaining full ownership, while simultaneously stating it has applied to raise its equity in Indian subsidiary, Etisalat DB, to 50 per cent plus one share.

The UAE operator acquired a 50 per cent stake in Atlantique in 2005, along with management rights until April 2015, and has steadily increased its equity in stages. The completion of the acquisition this year was executed through the purchase of the outstanding 18 per cent of shares. The West African company operates in seven countries: Ivory Coast, Gabon, Niger, Benin, Burkino Faso, Togo and Central African Republic.

Meanwhile Etisalat also stated it filed an application in December with India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for a planned increase in equity of Etisalat DB, from its current 44.73 per cent shareholding to 50 per cent. The operator is awaiting regulatory approval from the FIPB. Etisalat originally paid US$900 million for the stake in Swan Telecom in 2008, before renaming the entity Etisalat DB in June last year.

Etisalat DB holds licences to provide telephony, Internet and broadband services in 15 telecommunications circles across India, covering a population footprint of more than 900 million. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and is yet to launch services.

The Emirati group aims to increase its income from international operations from 10 per cent currently to eventually account for roughly half of its revenues.

On January 31, Etisalat announced a group net profit of AED 8,836 million (US$2,406 million) for 2009, up 3.8 per cent from AED 8,511 million in 2008. This sum included profit on the sale of shares in Saudi subsidiary Mobily of AED 892 million after federal royalty. Net revenues grew five per cent from AED 29,360 million in 2008, to AED 30,831 million last year.

The number of mobile users in the UAE exceeded 7.74 million in 2009, an increase of six per cent the previous year. Fixed line subscribers now count 1.31 million, while its Internet customer base rose 16 per cent year-on-year to reach 1.33 million by December.

TMT advisory and investment firm in emerging markets Delta Partners has become a shareholder in Aricent, a global innovation, technology and services company focused exclusively on communications. The size of the equity injection has not been disclosed.

Aricent is a strategic supplier to some of the world’s foremost infrastructure, application and service providers, with operations in 19 countries. Delta Partners aims to support the company by accelerating its positive momentum of engagements with leading infrastructure, application and service providers worldwide, and particularly in the Middle East and African region.

“We believe Aricent provides tremendous opportunities for our MENA Telecom Fund. Aricent has a top-notch management team, a strong board of directors, a shareholder base including some of the world’s most prominent investors, and a robust record of growth,” said Rogier van Driessche, partner at Delta Partners.

“Given that we share a focus on TMT, we expect to play an active role in supporting their business in our region,” van Driessche added .

The investment by Delta Partners into Aricent was the sixth executed through the Delta Partners MENA Telecom Fund, a private equity fund focused on investing in TMT companies. The fund’s other investments include Vox Spectrum, Armenian Datacom Company (ADC), OrasInvest, Karoui & Karoui and Trivon Group.

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