Vodafone Middle East deal

The mobile giant Vodafone yesterday expanded its presence in the Middle East as it signed a major partnership with the regional operator Zain Group.

Vodafone said the deal, which does not involve any equity investment, should boost its reach in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq.

The company added the partnership would "complement" its own regional operations in Egypt and Qatar.

Vodafone was caught up in controversy when the then Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak's regime used the phone network to send pro-government text messages at the height of the country's revolution in January 2011.

The group said it had no control of the messages and "protested to the authorities" that they were "unacceptable".