MTN won’t bid for Ethiopian licence, to abandon Syria immediately

JOHANNESBURG: South African telecoms operator MTN Group will not resubmit a bid for a licence in Ethiopia and will also exit Syria immediately as it has become “intolerable” to operate there, group CEO Ralph Mupita said on Thursday.

Earlier this month, two senior government officials said Ethiopia will reopen bidding for its second telecoms operator licence in August, including the right to operate mobile financial services.