Dr. Mo Ibrahim Resigns as Chairman from Celtel Board - Lord Cairns to Succeed as Chairman

5 September 2007
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Celtel (Amsterdam)
press release

MTC subsidiary Celtel International, a leader in mobile communications in Africa, today announced that Lord Simon Cairns has been appointed Chairman of the Board. Lord Cairns, who is currently deputy Chairman of the Board, replaces Dr. Mo Ibrahim, who founded Celtel in 1998 and is stepping down to focus on the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Dr Ibrahim will also be concerned with the newly established Africa Enterprise Fund, which invests in African businesses outside the field of telecommunications.

Lord Cairns comes to the helm of Celtel at a time the mobile operator is witnessing exponential customer growth. His professional career has seen him serve as Chairman of Actis Capital LLP; CDC Group plc; Commonwealth Business Council; the Overseas Development Institute; Allied Zurich as well as Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SG Warburg.

Dr. Saad Al Barrak, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of the MTC Group commented: "On behalf of everyone at MTC, we welcome Lord Cairns and we would like to thank Mo from the bottom of our hearts for his leadership, guidance and wisdom he has offered us over the past two and a half years as Chairman of Celtel's Board. As one of the recognized leaders in the field of mobile telecommunications and pre-eminent businessmen in Africa we are thankful for his leadership in growing the mobile business in Africa and we trust that his new endeavors will contribute to the development of the African continent."

Celtel International is one of Africa's leading mobile operators serving over 21 million customers across 14 sub-Saharan nations. In April 2005, MTC Kuwait acquired Celtel for US$ 3.4 billion and asked Mo Ibrahim to remain the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Celtel International to make best use of his knowledge of telecommunications and passion for developing the African continent. Under his stewardship Celtel grew its customer base from 5 million customers in April 2005 to more than 21 million mobile users today.

Dr. Ibrahim remarked: "I am confident that the integration of Celtel International into the MTC Group has been successful. MTC has contributed to the extraordinary growth of Celtel and has underscored this by investing more than US$ 10 billion into mobile communications on the continent to date. I wish the MTC Group continued success in bringing telecommunications services to the people in Africa."

He added "I am looking forward to devoting more of my time and energy to the work of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Nothing is more important to Africa's development than good governance. Through the Ibrahim Index and Mo Ibrahim Prize, the Foundation hopes to make an important contribution in this area."

Enquiries: Martin de Koning, Celtel International, Email: Dekoning.m@celtel.com, Tel: +31 6 558 22 409

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