MTC eyes greater role in Lebanon as part of expansion plans

The group said the meeting, held in Beirut on March 16 and 17, addressed MTC's strategy in terms of its activities and new structure. The two-day meeting of representatives from across the Middle East and North Africa was called to review and continue the expansion operations achieved by MTC over the past two years, and especially in the past 12 months. The group has expanded from six countries in the Middle East (Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Sudan and Lebanon) to 19 Arab and African countries through the acquisition of Celtel in Africa. Celtel operates in 13 African countries.

MTC CEO Dr. Saad Al Barrak said, "The meeting was to introduce everyone to our strategy to become a leading global player in the mobile sector by 2011."

Referring to the announced privatization plans for Lebanon's state-owned mobile telephone services, Al Barrak added,

"Despite the difficult times that Lebanon is going through, we were keen on holding this annual meeting here because of the strategic importance we give to this country, especially since we aspire to play a role in developing the mobile sector in Lebanon."

On the need to promote dialogue within MTC Group, Al Barrak said this would enhance both the working efficiency and the performance level of the company. "We can all use our particular knowledge and skills to help each other and thus help our customers," he said.

Al Barrak said the group needed to adopt a flexible strategy on expansion, taking into account the local market structure for each of its current and potential subsidiaries. The level of services provided needed to be consistently high across the board although the route to achieving that goal may vary.

Al Barrak said the expansion strategy initiated by the group three years ago had already enabled MTC to become the fourth largest mobile operator worldwide with some 15 million customers in its 19-country network.