Saudi Telecom Company Explained

Type:Public
Hq Location City:Riyadh
Hq Location Country:Saudi Arabia
Industry:Telecommunications
Num Employees:22,751
Subsid:
  • stc Kuwait
Revenue:SAR 72.337 million (2023)[1]
Net Income:SAR 13.295 million(2023)
Assets:SAR 159.683 million (2023)
Module:
Child:yes
Asn:39386

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. 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.

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.[2] [3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

The Saudi Digital Payments Company (stc bank) launched in 2017, with official work beginning in 2018.[6]

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.[7] In June 2021, the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia approved the conversion of the Saudi Digital Payments Company (stc Pay) into a digital bank.[8] stc replaced all its 3G networks with 5G in October 2021.[9]

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.

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.[10] [11]

In collaboration with Alibaba Group, the Alibaba Cloud was launched in May 2022.[12] Center3, a new digital infrastructure assets company owned by stc Group, was launched in October 2022.[13] stc Group also completed the first global 1.2T/channel trial in its DWDM optical network.[14]

In February 2023, GO Telecom partnered with the company to provide IoT services throughout stc Group’s network.[15] Microsoft and stc also expanded their partnership that same month to further advance digitalization across Saudi Arabia.[16] 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.[17] Saudi Telecommunication Company's subsidiary TAWAL officially began operations in Europe in August of that year.[18]

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.[19] [20]

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.[21]

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.[22] [23]

The STV Investment Fund, which invests in small and medium-sized companies in communications and information technology, was established in 2018.[24]

In October 2021, stc Group launched 3 data centers in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Madina with a $SAR 1 billion investment.[25]

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.[26]

As of May 2023, stc Group has invested over $SAR 3.5 billion in social, educational and health initiatives.[27] 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.[28]

Operations

stc Group services are divided into four broad categories:

stc Group also offers two content platforms:

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.[30]

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.[31]

Awards

stc is a recipient of the GSMA T-ISAC Award 2024 for Recognition of Excellence and Leadership, whereas, Nauman Khan, Telecom Threat Management Lead Consultant at stc received the GSMA T-ISAC Individual Recognition Award 2024. These awards were presented at the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.[32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023. March 15, 2024.
  2. Web site: الصفحة الرئيسية . 2023-04-14 . www.stc.com.sa.
  3. Web site: IMPACT OF C.S.R. ON BRAND EQUITY IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE STC SAUDI ARABIA. Globus An International Journal of Management & IT. May 14, 2022. Abdulwahab Saleh AlWahashi. January 5, 2023.
  4. Web site: Saudi Telecom raises $4B in offer. CNN. January 7, 2003 . January 5, 2023.
  5. Web site: الموافقة على قيام شركة الاتصالات السعودية بشراء حصص الشركاء في الشركة العربية لخدمات الإنترنت والاتصالات (أول نت) . 2023-04-14 . www.cst.gov.sa.
  6. Web site: اقتصادي / الاتصالات السعودية تدشن شركة " STC Pay " للمدفوعات الرقمية وكالة الأنباء السعودية . 2023-04-14 . www.spa.gov.sa.
  7. Web site: الوطن . الرياض . 2019-12-19 . الاتصالات السعودية تطلق سمتها التجارية الجديدة . 2023-04-14 . Watanksa . Arabic.
  8. Web site: وزير المالية ومحافظ البنك المركزي السعودي يشكران القيادة بمناسبة موافقة مجلس الوزراء على الترخيص لبنكين محليين رقميين . 2023-04-14 . www.sama.gov.sa.
  9. Web site: stc Accelerates its Efforts to Replace its 3G Network with 5G. Tech Africa News. October 28, 2021. January 5, 2023.
  10. Web site: 10 February 2022 . STC tower subsidiary enters Pakistan through acquisition . 2022-02-10 . www.capacitymedia.com . en.
  11. Web site: 2022-02-09 . stc unit enters Pakistani market with AWAL Telecom acquisition . 2023-07-18 . Arab News . en.
  12. Web site: STC Group and Alibaba to set up $238m Saudi cloud services venture. The National News. May 25, 2022. Alvin R Cabral. January 14, 2023.
  13. Web site: stc launches Center3 for Kingdom’s digital economy. Arab News. October 5, 2022. January 14, 2023.
  14. Web site: stc and Huawei completes DWDM 1.2T/channel trial. Capacity Media. October 21, 2022. Natalie Bannerman. January 14, 2023.
  15. Web site: stc and Go Telecom to Enable Advanced IoT Services to Empower Individual and Corporate Sectors. Tech Africa News. February 13, 2023. AKIM BENAMARA. January 5, 2023.
  16. Web site: stc group collaborates with Microsoft to unlock the potential of innovation in corporate digital transformation. Microsoft. November 2, 2023. January 7, 2023.
  17. Web site: stc digitally powers F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023. Arab News. March 20, 2023. January 7, 2023.
  18. Web site: stc group officially begins operation in Europe. Saudi Gazette. August 27, 2023. January 5, 2023.
  19. Web site: STC Group acquires a €2.1 billion stake in Telefónica Total Telecom . 2023-09-06 . totaltele.com.
  20. Web site: Staff . TelecomTV . 2023-09-06 . What’s up with… Telefónica & STC, Nexfibre & Upp, Arm’s IPO . 2023-09-06 . TelecomTV . en.
  21. News: Entrepreneurs bag over $186m through stc’s InspireU accelerator program .
  22. News: Saudi's PIF raises $3.2bn from stc share sale. https://web.archive.org/web/20211215140045/https://www.arabianbusiness.com/money/corporate/capital-markets/saudis-pif-raises-3-2bn-from-stc-share-sale. 15 December 2021. live.
  23. Web site: Bloomberg. 2021-12-12. Saudi wealth fund PIF raises $3.2bn from sale of STC stake. 2022-01-20. Gulf Business. en-US.
  24. News: Saudi Telecom Co commits extra $300 million to VC firm STV .
  25. Web site: stc launching 3 Mega Data Centers across Saudi Arabia. Telecom Review. December 30, 2020. January 7, 2023.
  26. Web site: To Invest in 9 Advanced Technological Areas, stc Launches Venture Capital Fund. Saudi Press Agency. February 8, 2023. January 7, 2023.
  27. Web site: stc Group Invests more than SAR 3.5 billion in Social, Educational and Health Initiatives. Saudi Press Agency. May 4, 2023. January 7, 2023.
  28. News: STC Group invests more than $933.2mln in social, educational and health initiatives .
  29. Web site: STC website. STC What's on! Business Fifth Edition. www.stc.com.sa. 4 August 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140808044225/http://www.stc.com.sa/wps/wcm/connect/english/business/resources/5/2/52870491-76db-4c49-bfaf-7c6069aa27a2/WOB-online%2BEnglish.pdf. 8 August 2014.
  30. Web site: Saudi Arabia’s STC Pay eyes rapid Gulf expansion after billion-dollar valuation. CNBC. November 23, 2020. Dan Murphy. January 14, 2023.
  31. Web site: Chairman's Message . 2023-07-18 . www.stc.com.sa.
  32. Web site: سبق . 2024-02-27 . مجموعة stc تحصد جائزة "المساهمين الفاعلين" في الامن السيبراني خلال المؤتمر العالمي للجوال MWC 2024 في برشلونة . 2024-08-13 . صحيفة سبق الالكترونية . ar.
  33. Web site: stc Group Receives Contributors Award in Cybersecurity at MWC 2024 In Barcelona . 2024-08-13 . spa.gov.sa . en.
  34. Web site: PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions . 2024-08-13 . www.pressreader.com.
  35. MWC24 Barcelona Security Summit Session 3 - Threat Intelligence – Prevention through Sharing . 2024-03-19 . GSMA . 2024-08-13 . YouTube.
  36. Web site: GSMA - Security and Fraud on LinkedIn: #gsma #mwc24 10 comments . 2024-08-13 . www.linkedin.com . en.