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UAE telco e& loses appeal in Moroccan antitrust case

By Divsha Bhat
Maroc Telecom fine Maroc Telecom
Maroc Telecom's HQ in Rabat. The telco had almost 20 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2023
  • Maroc Telecom must pay $626m to Inwi
  • Anti-competitive practices
  • Fine exceeds its 2023 profits

UAE telco e& (formerly Etisalat) has lost its appeal against an anti-competitive practices compensation payment in a Moroccan court.

Maroc Telecom, which is 53 percent owned by e&, is now required to pay AED2.3 billion ($626 million) to Casablanca’s Wana Corporate (Inwi).

It was first ordered to pay the compensation by the Commercial Court of Rabat in January 2024. The Court of Appeal in Casablanca affirmed that ruling on Wednesday.

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A statement from e& to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange said it was “disappointed” with the decision and that it will “exhaust all legal options” to challenge its impact.

It added that the decision would not affect e& Group’s consolidated results for the second quarter of 2024 “due to adequate coverage of international regulatory risks”.

The fine exceeds Maroc Telecom’s 2023 profit of 6.1 billion Moroccan dirhams ($0.6 billion), Reuters reported.

Inwi is the country’s third-largest telecom operator controlled by Morocco’s royal family’s private investment fund, Al Mada.

The verdict comes after Morocco’s telecom regulator, National Agency of Telecommunications Regulation, fined Maroc Telecom 3 billion Moroccan dirhams in 2020 for obstructing competitors’ access to unbundling on its network.

Maroc Telecom is Morocco’s largest operator with almost 20 million mobile subscribers at the end of December 2023, according to the African Press Agency. It also operates subsidiaries across northern and western Africa.

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