Saudi_Telecom_Company

Saudi Telecom Company

Saudi Telecom Company

Saudi Arabian telecommunications company

Saudi Telecommunication Company (Group) (stylized as stc; Arabic: شركة الاتصالات السعودية) provides ICT services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, across the Middle East and Europe.[3] The group offers landline and fixed infrastructure, mobile and data services, and broadband & cloud computing services. stc Group also offers online payments, telecommunications, IOT, 5G, e-gaming, cybersecurity, digital entertainment, and fintech.

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History

Saudi Telecommunication Company (stc) was established as a Saudi joint-stock company on 21 April 1998 and began operations of telecommunications services throughout Saudi Arabia on 2 May 1998 as a wholly owned entity of the government of Saudi Arabia.[4][5] stc received commercial registration as a Saudi Joint Stock Company on June 29, 1998 under registration No. 1010150269, and closed its initial public offering (IPO) in January 2003.[6] On 11 April 2006, stc approved the increase of share capital from SR $15,000 million to SR $20,000 million through a transfer from the retained earnings to the capital.[7]

The Saudi Digital Payments Company (stc bank) launched in 2017, with official work beginning in 2018.[8]

In December 2019, the company launched a new identity, and the names of its branches in Bahrain and Kuwait were changed from VIVA to stc Kuwait and stc Bahrain.[9] In June 2021, the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia approved the conversion of the Saudi Digital Payments Company (stc Pay) into a digital bank.[10] stc replaced all its 3G networks with 5G in October 2021.[11]

In 2021, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) sold 120 million shares in Saudi Telecom Company (stc) for $3.2 billion after completing a secondary share offering of stc Group.[12][13]

In February 2022, it was announced that stc subsidiary, TAWAL, has acquired the Pakistani company, AWAL Telecom Private Limited - an independent passive telecommunications tower provider, for an undisclosed sum. AWAL was rebranded as TAWAL Pakistan.[14][15]

In collaboration with Alibaba Group, the Alibaba Cloud was launched in May 2022.[16] Center3, a new digital infrastructure assets company owned by stc Group, was launched in October 2022.[17] stc Group also completed the first global 1.2T/channel trial in its DWDM optical network.[18]

In February 2023, GO Telecom partnered with the company to provide IoT services throughout stc Group’s network.[19] Microsoft and stc also expanded their partnership that same month to further advance digitalization across Saudi Arabia.[20] It was announced in March 2023 that stc Group would provide the digital infrastructure for the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, making it the company’s third consecutive year of partnership.[21] Saudi Telecommunication Company's subsidiary TAWAL officially began operations in Europe in August of that year.[3]

In September 2023, it was announced stc Group had acquired a 9.9% stake in the Madrid-headquartered multinational telecommunications company, Telefónica, S.A.. The deal was worth €2.1 billion - making stc Group the company’s largest shareholder.[22][23]

Investment funds

In 2017, the InspireU business accelerator was launched. Since the program’s inception, the InspireU accelerator has supported over 90 digital projects, with investments and financial transactions hitting a market value of $SAR 12 billion. Over 40 million users have benefited from InspireU’s projects.[24]

In 2021, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) sold 120 million shares in Saudi Telecom Company (stc) for $3.2 billion after completing a secondary share offering of stc Group.[12][13]

The STV Investment Fund, which invests in small and medium-sized companies in communications and information technology, was established in 2018.[25]

In October 2021, stc Group launched 3 data centers in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Madina with a $SAR 1 billion investment.[26]

stc Group launched its corporate investment fund (CIF) in February 2023. CIF invests in early-stage startups in the cybersecurity, AI, digital gaming, IoT, and blockchain sectors.[27]

As of May 2023, stc Group has invested over $SAR 3.5 billion in social, educational and health initiatives.[28] Its ImpactU program has supported projects with a total value of $SAR 800,000. The program aims to incubate five startups annually and increase the initial investment for each to $SAR 100,000 to drive local economic growth.[29]

Operations

stc Group services are divided into four broad categories:

stc Group also offers two content platforms:

  • stc Play - Gaming and esports platform that allows users to participate in tournaments and access game exporters
  • stc TV - Entertainment streaming service

In 2020, stc Pay earned its electronic money institute (EMI) license. Western Union soon after purchased 15% shares at a $1.3 billion valuation, making stc pay the first and largest fintech unicorn in the Middle East.[31]

The group is currently operating as a conglomerate to manage all assets, subsidiaries and joint ventures by the Saudi Telecom Group. Mohammed K. A. Al Faisal is the current chairman.[32]

References

  1. [1]
    "قيادتنا". stc.com (in Arabic). Saudi Telecom Company. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  2. [2]
    "CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. [3]
    "stc group officially begins operation in Europe". Saudi Gazette. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  4. [4]
    "الصفحة الرئيسية". www.stc.com.sa. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  5. [5]
    Abdulwahab Saleh AlWahashi (14 May 2022). "IMPACT OF C.S.R. ON BRAND EQUITY IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE STC SAUDI ARABIA" (PDF). Globus An International Journal of Management & IT. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Saudi Telecom raises $4B in offer". CNN. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  7. [7]
    "الموافقة على قيام شركة الاتصالات السعودية بشراء حصص الشركاء في الشركة العربية لخدمات الإنترنت والاتصالات (أول نت)". www.cst.gov.sa. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  8. [8]
    "اقتصادي / الاتصالات السعودية تدشن شركة " STC Pay " للمدفوعات الرقمية وكالة الأنباء السعودية". www.spa.gov.sa. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. [9]
    الوطن, الرياض (19 December 2019). "الاتصالات السعودية تطلق سمتها التجارية الجديدة". Watanksa (in Arabic). Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  10. [10]
    "وزير المالية ومحافظ البنك المركزي السعودي يشكران القيادة بمناسبة موافقة مجلس الوزراء على الترخيص لبنكين محليين رقميين". www.sama.gov.sa. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  11. [11]
    "stc Accelerates its Efforts to Replace its 3G Network with 5G". Tech Africa News. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  12. [12]
    "Saudi's PIF raises $3.2bn from stc share sale". Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  13. [13]
    Bloomberg (12 December 2021). "Saudi wealth fund PIF raises $3.2bn from sale of STC stake". Gulf Business. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  14. [14]
    "STC tower subsidiary enters Pakistan through acquisition". www.capacitymedia.com. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. [15]
    "stc unit enters Pakistani market with AWAL Telecom acquisition". Arab News. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  16. [16]
    Alvin R Cabral (25 May 2022). "STC Group and Alibaba to set up $238m Saudi cloud services venture". The National News. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  17. [17]
    "stc launches Center3 for Kingdom's digital economy". Arab News. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  18. [18]
    Natalie Bannerman (21 October 2022). "stc and Huawei completes DWDM 1.2T/channel trial". Capacity Media. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  19. [19]
    AKIM BENAMARA (13 February 2023). "stc and Go Telecom to Enable Advanced IoT Services to Empower Individual and Corporate Sectors". Tech Africa News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  20. [20]
    "stc group collaborates with Microsoft to unlock the potential of innovation in corporate digital transformation". Microsoft. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  21. [21]
    "stc digitally powers F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023". Arab News. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  22. [22]
    "STC Group acquires a €2.1 billion stake in Telefónica | Total Telecom". totaltele.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  23. [23]
    Staff, TelecomTV (6 September 2023). "What's up with… Telefónica & STC, Nexfibre & Upp, Arm's IPO". TelecomTV. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  24. [24]
    "Entrepreneurs bag over $186m through stc's InspireU accelerator program".
  25. [25]
    "Saudi Telecom Co commits extra $300 million to VC firm STV".
  26. [26]
    "stc launching 3 Mega Data Centers across Saudi Arabia". Telecom Review. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  27. [27]
    "To Invest in 9 Advanced Technological Areas, stc Launches Venture Capital Fund". Saudi Press Agency. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  28. [28]
    "stc Group Invests more than SAR 3.5 billion in Social, Educational and Health Initiatives". Saudi Press Agency. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  29. [29]
    "STC Group invests more than $933.2mln in social, educational and health initiatives".
  30. [30]
    STC website. "STC What's on! Business Fifth Edition" (PDF). www.stc.com.sa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  31. [31]
    Dan Murphy (23 November 2020). "Saudi Arabia's STC Pay eyes rapid Gulf expansion after billion-dollar valuation". CNBC. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  32. [32]
    "Chairman's Message". www.stc.com.sa. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
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