The Regional Force Be with You: Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) of Kuwait Has Grown Rapidly over the Past Five Years to Become the Region's Largest Telco in Terms of Subscribers and Geographical Coverage. MTC Director-General Saad Al-Barrak Talks about His Company's Development, and the Challenges It Faces as It Continues Its Expansionist Drive

James, Ed, MEED Middle East Economic Digest

It has been a hectic past 12 months for MTC--how would you describe the last year?

Hectic is too mild a word. The last year has been a commercial volcano. When compared to last year, 2005 has seen more than 100 per cent growth. So for a company at this stage in maturity to double its size and more in one year has been a monumental landmark.

Earlier this year MTC bought Celtel to give it a firm foothold in Africa. Why did you believe Celtel was the right acquisition for you?

Africa is the fastest growing market worldwide in the telecoms sector, and according to the World Bank, the five fastest growing regions economically are China, Russia, India, Brazil and Africa. Looking at our geographical locations and history, Africa is the closest region to us and has therefore been our strategic focus. It's the fastest growing market with 850 million people, of whom 240 million live in the sub-Saharan region that Celtel serves. In this area, the mobile penetration rate is less than 4 per cent so the …

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Publication information: Article title: The Regional Force Be with You: Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) of Kuwait Has Grown Rapidly over the Past Five Years to Become the Region's Largest Telco in Terms of Subscribers and Geographical Coverage. MTC Director-General Saad Al-Barrak Talks about His Company's Development, and the Challenges It Faces as It Continues Its Expansionist Drive. Contributors: James, Ed - Author. Magazine title: MEED Middle East Economic Digest. Volume: 49. Issue: 40 Publication date: October 7, 2005. Page number: 48+. © 1999 MEED Middle East Economic Digest. All Rights Reserved. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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