Iran’s largest cellphone operator, MTN of South Africa, has more than $550 million stuck in Iran because of US sanctions, the company revealed last week.
MTN owns a 49 percent share in Irancell, which in turn is owned and controlled by the Iranian Electronic Development Company.
MTN said it is in talks with US authorities, including Treasury Department officials, to try to find a way to get its assets out of Iran.
Sanctions have made it difficult, but by no means impossible, for any company doing business with Iran to take assets out of the country. MTN Group CEO Sifiso Dabengwa said the company has not been able to repatriate money out of Iran since last year when the toughest round of sanctions was imposed by the US and EU.
The company says sanctions are also frustrating MTN’s efforts to import networking equipment to improve service levels and expand its network in Iran.
Iran is MTN’s second largest country of operation, with over 40 million subscribers.
Dabengwa told reporters MTN wants to repatriate about $400 million in loans, which the telecom company received from lending institutions to support its expansion, and between $150 million and $200 million in dividends.
Dabengwa said business in Iran has remained good and that MTN would only pull out of Iran if South Africa adopted the US sanctions, which is highly unlikely.
In the first quarter of this year, Dabengwa said MTN invested over $44 million in Iran, although there have been project delays.
Dabengwa also said the company would also continue to operate in Syria and maintain services there as best as possible.