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Saudi Telecom Company
STC Group
Native name
شركة الاتصالات السعودية
Company typePublic
Tadawul: 7010
ISINSA0007879543 Edit this on Wikidata
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded21 April 1998; 26 years ago (1998-04-21)
Headquarters
Riyadh
,
Saudi Arabia
Area served
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Bahrain
  • Kuwait
Key people
Products
RevenueSAR 72.337 million (2023)[2]
SAR 13.295 million(2023)[2]
Total assetsSAR 159.683 million (2023)[2]
Number of employees
22,751
Divisions
  • Channels by stc
  • Solutions by stc
  • Specialized by stc
  • CCC by stc
  • Sirar
  • Aqalat
  • Integral
  • Stc KSA
  • Telecom Towers Company Limited (TAWAL)
  • Stc bank (stc pay)
  • IOT squared
  • Center3
  • Saudi Cloud Computing Company
    (SCCC Alibaba Cloud)
Subsidiaries
  • stc Kuwait
  • stc Bahrain
ASN
Websitewww.stc.com

The Saudi Telecom Company (shortened to stc; Arabic: شركة الاتصالات السعودية), trading as STC Group 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. It also offers online payments, telecommunications, IOT, 5G, e-gaming, cybersecurity, digital entertainment, and fintech.

History

[edit]

Saudi Telecommunication Company (stc Group) 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] The group 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] The company 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 Group) 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] The company 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

[edit]

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 Group) 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]

The company 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

[edit]

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]

Awards

[edit]

The company 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.[33][34][35][36][37]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "قيادتنا". stc.com (in Arabic). Saudi Telecom Company. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "stc group officially begins operation in Europe". Saudi Gazette. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  4. ^ "الصفحة الرئيسية". www.stc.com.sa. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  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. ^ "Saudi Telecom raises $4B in offer". CNN. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  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. ^ "اقتصادي / الاتصالات السعودية تدشن شركة " STC Pay " للمدفوعات الرقمية وكالة الأنباء السعودية". www.spa.gov.sa. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. ^ الوطن, الرياض (19 December 2019). "الاتصالات السعودية تطلق سمتها التجارية الجديدة". Watanksa (in Arabic). Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  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. ^ "stc Accelerates its Efforts to Replace its 3G Network with 5G". Tech Africa News. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Saudi's PIF raises $3.2bn from stc share sale". Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  13. ^ a b Bloomberg (12 December 2021). "Saudi wealth fund PIF raises $3.2bn from sale of STC stake". Gulf Business. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  14. ^ "STC tower subsidiary enters Pakistan through acquisition". www.capacitymedia.com. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. ^ "stc unit enters Pakistani market with AWAL Telecom acquisition". Arab News. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  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. ^ "stc launches Center3 for Kingdom's digital economy". Arab News. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  18. ^ Natalie Bannerman (21 October 2022). "stc and Huawei completes DWDM 1.2T/channel trial". Capacity Media. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  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. ^ "stc group collaborates with Microsoft to unlock the potential of innovation in corporate digital transformation". Microsoft. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  21. ^ "stc digitally powers F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023". Arab News. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  22. ^ "STC Group acquires a €2.1 billion stake in Telefónica | Total Telecom". totaltele.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  23. ^ Staff, TelecomTV (6 September 2023). "What's up with… Telefónica & STC, Nexfibre & Upp, Arm's IPO". TelecomTV. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Entrepreneurs bag over $186m through stc's InspireU accelerator program".
  25. ^ "Saudi Telecom Co commits extra $300 million to VC firm STV".
  26. ^ "stc launching 3 Mega Data Centers across Saudi Arabia". Telecom Review. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  27. ^ "To Invest in 9 Advanced Technological Areas, stc Launches Venture Capital Fund". Saudi Press Agency. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  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. ^ "STC Group invests more than $933.2mln in social, educational and health initiatives".
  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. ^ a b Dan Murphy (23 November 2020). "Saudi Arabia's STC Pay eyes rapid Gulf expansion after billion-dollar valuation". CNBC. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Chairman's Message". www.stc.com.sa. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  33. ^ سبق (27 February 2024). "مجموعة stc تحصد جائزة "المساهمين الفاعلين" في الامن السيبراني خلال المؤتمر العالمي للجوال MWC 2024 في برشلونة". صحيفة سبق الالكترونية (in Arabic). Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  34. ^ "stc Group Receives Contributors Award in Cybersecurity at MWC 2024 In Barcelona". spa.gov.sa. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  35. ^ "Stc Group wins GSMA T-ISAC Contributors Award for leadership in cybersecurity". Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via PressReader.
  36. ^ GSMA (19 March 2024). MWC24 Barcelona Security Summit Session 3 - Threat Intelligence – Prevention through Sharing. Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via YouTube.
  37. ^ "GSMA - Security and Fraud on LinkedIn: #gsma #mwc24 | 10 comments". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
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