Kuwait-based mobile firm Zain has entered its 23rd market in Middle East/Africa via the acquisition of a 31 percent stake in Morocco’s third-largest mobile operator, Wana. In a statement, Zain said that it had made the acquisition via a 50/50 partnership with Al Ajial Investment Fund Holding, paying US$324 million for the stake. Wana is to use the investment to launch GSM services in late 2009. The operator already offers fixed and ‘restricted mobile services’ (branded as ‘Bayn’), full CDMA mobility services (branded as ‘Wana’) and Internet and data services throughout Morocco. As well as working on the GSM deployment, Zain and Wana said they will also enter into an operating framework agreement that will give Wana access to Zain’s “expertise, purchasing power, products and services,” including membership of Zain’s ‘One Network’ initiative, which allows communications across 17 Zain markets without incurring roaming charges.

According to Wireless Intelligence data, Wana had 1.95 million mobile connections by the end of 2008, giving it an 8.1 percent market share. The market leader is Maroc Telecom, which had 14.5 million connections (60 percent share) by year-end, while second-placed Meditel had 7.8 million (32.3 percent share). “With 22.5 million mobile customers representing about 70 percent penetration, Morocco is an exciting new region for Zain to extend our footprint to 23 countries,” said Dr. Saad Al Barrak, Zain’s CEO.