Makhlouf says he is not selling SyriaTel shares

Rami Makhlouf, SyriaTel's largest single shareholder, has scotched rumours that he is looking to sell his stake in the company. Speaking during the company’s AGM, Mr Makhlouf, who has been widely tipped to sell his majority stake in the country’s largest mobile operator, said: 'at the moment, I have no intention of [selling up], although this could take place in the future … As to [the] date, the matter is not very clear.’

In April this year, Turkish mobile operator Turkcell said it was still in talks for a majority stake in SyriaTel despite fresh US sanctions against the Syrian operator’s owners. At the time, a source familiar with the deal said that talks were taking longer than expected because some Turkcell executives had US passports. The Turkish cellco states that ‘any possible US citizenship held by management’ would not affect the process. In February 2008 the US froze the assets of Syriatel owner Rami Makhlouf under economic sanctions aimed at stepping up pressure on Damascus. ‘We are aware of the situation between the US and Syria. But since Turkcell is a Turkey-based company and there is no legal restriction on the purchase of SyriaTel, the situation does not have any impact on the talks,’ stated Turkcell.