Merali’s swift exit from Zain earns him billions

Businessman Naushad Merali’s decision to significantly reduce his stake in telecoms firm Zain Kenya last year was yet another of the many sumptuous investment hat tricks he has pulled among local and foreign business partners in the past 10 years, it has now emerged.

Shortly after Mr Merali’s stealth exit, Zain Kenya, the telecoms service provider which is now 95 per cent owned by Kuwait-based Zain Group, became the subject of a major asset impairment that cut back the firm’s valuation by more than Sh5 billion.