31 March 2015
• Wael Ghanayem returns to Zain Group in a senior executive position that includes strategic advisory role to the Zain Iraq Board

• New executive structure in Zain Iraq sees establishment of two deputy CEO roles

Baghdad - Zain Group, the leading telecom innovator across the Middle East and Africa announces that Wael Ghanayem, Chief Financial and Operating Officer of Zain Iraq will return to Zain Group to become part of the Group's executive leadership team in a new role overseeing and supporting all operations as the Group implements its new strategic direction of transforming into an integrated digital mobile operator. In addition,Mr. Ghanayem will continue to support Zain Iraq, the country's leading mobile operator,as an advisor to the mobile operator's Board of Directors.

Following this change, Zain Iraq's Chairman and CEO Mohammad Al Charchafchi announced the creation of two new deputy CEO roles, promoting two long-serving senior executives, Philipe Hanna as Deputy CEO of Commercial and Strategy; and Dr. Haidar Radi as Deputy CEO of Technical and Regulatory. Furthermore, Samer Musleh has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Zain Iraq, having been promoted from his Director role. All three appointees combined represent many years of experience in the telecom industry, many of these years within Zain Group and Zain Iraq in various roles and responsibilities.

All above mentioned management changes are effective immediately.

Commenting on the changes, Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer said, "I would like to express my profound gratitude to Wael Ghanayem for the phenomenal work he has undertakenat Zain Iraq over hisseven years at the company. Through his efforts since joining as CFO in 2008 and then as COO, Zain Iraq has become the leading mobile operator in the country and one of Zain Group's most profitable operationsrepresenting 38% of revenues and31% of the Group's customer base at the end of 2014. Iam confident thatthe Board of Zain Iraq will benefit from his advisory roleand I look forward to welcoming him to a key position within the Zain Group executive team to support our strategic direction."

Mr. Gegenheimer continued, "With Mr.Al Charchafchi having two deputies of the caliber of Philipe Hanna and Dr.Haidar Radi as well as an astute financial performer in Samer Musleh, will ensure the future growth and ongoing success of the operation taking into consideration the exciting, yet challenging times ahead as Zain Iraq works towards undertaking an IPO and as it expands the network and rolls-out 3G services across the country."

To date, Zain has invested in excess of US$ 5 billion in the development of its network and rollout of mobile services in Iraq. At the end of 2014, the operation in Iraq served 13.8 million customers and recently launched 3G services across the country following its acquisition of required spectrum at a license fee of US$ 307 million. The operator has a total of 4,076 network sites, covering 98% of the population and employs in excess of 3,000 Iraqi nationals.

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About Zain Iraq
Zain Iraq is the leading mobile operator in the country serving 13.8 million customers at the end of 2014. It is part of the Zain Group, a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 44.3 million active customers as of 31 December, 2014. With a commercial presence in 8 countries, Zain operates in: Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the Group manages 'touch' on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5% stake in 'INWI', through a joint venture. Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (stock ticker: ZAIN).

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© Press Release 2015