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Syrian Minister of Telecommunications Iyad al Khatib told
parliament last week that Wafa would begin its services over the
next nine months. Influential businessmen with close ties to
government officials are key investors in the company, two
senior businessmen said.
The new company enters a market where the main operator is
Syriatel, which has over 11 million subscribers. The other
smaller operator, MTN Syria in which South Africa's MTN Group
has a stake, has had government lawsuits filed against it.
Last month, the state telecommunications authority finalised
Wafa's draft licence but did not include the financial details
of the new licence, which officials have for the last few years
planned to announce.
Officials say Iranian investors are not among the shareholders,
although Iran's telecom industry is expected to win tenders to
supply the infrastructure, according to two Damascus-based
businessmen familiar with the deal.
Both countries had signed an agreement in January 2017 that
opened the door for the Mobile Telecommunication Company of
Iran(MCI), the country's leading operator, to win the
concession. However, that deal never transpired, according to a
Damascus-based senior businessman.
(Reporting by Moataz Mohamed and Kinda Makieh Writing by
Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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