Kuwaiti telecom Zain Group plans to invest more than $1.5 billion over the next decade to upgrade and operate a mobile network in Syria, the latest in a series of Gulf investments since the fall of the Assad regime. The company will acquire a 75% stake in the existing MTN network, with the Syrian government holding the remaining 25%; Zain said it will spend $800 million to modernize a service that ranks among the world’s worst in terms of speed and reliability.
The deal adds to growing Gulf spending in Syria, as governments and companies jockey for a role in the country’s reconstruction. Emirati, Qatari, and Saudi firms have announced projects spanning aviation, banking, energy, ports, and real estate.