Zain Saudi Arabia to launch operations by June
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Saturday, 22 March 2008
The Saudi affiliate of Kuwaiti telecom Zain plans to start operations by June this year, the company's chief executive told Al Arabiya television on Saturday.
Zain Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's third mobile phone company, started trading at 22 riyals on its debut on the Riyadh stock exchange.
"We will launch the service by the end of the first half of 2008 or by June... but this is subject to achieving quality standards," Marwan Al-Ahmadi told the television. He did not elaborate.
Zain sold shares in Zain Saudi Arabia, of which it owns 25%, at 10 riyals each in an initial public offering (IPO) in February that was 183% oversubscribed.
The company's network would initially only cover 53% of the population, but it will coordinate with rivals Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Mobily to provide wider coverage, Al-Ahmadi said. He added that Zain planned to fully depend on its own infrastructure within three years.
Zain, which operates in about 20 countries, is expanding its overseas operations to counter rising competition at home, where STC is to set up the country's third mobile phone company. (Reuters)
READERS' COMMENTS
MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM
TOP IN MIDDLE EAST TECHNOLOGY
TOP MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS STORIES
ALSO IN MIDDLE EAST TECHNOLOGY
LATEST MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS NEWS
- Sport: Westwood extends lead after Race to Dubai's Day 3
- Financial Markets: Saudi index down, banks and petchems weigh
- Real Estate: Merger technical talks to conclude in a month - Emaar
- Banking & Finance: Dubai's Abraaj eyes property investments
- Banking & Finance: Emirates NBD launches bank’s new brand identity
SHARE PRICE CHECK
RELATED STORIES
Saudi Telecom Company (STC)
- Saudi’s STC strikes deal with Real Madrid football club
14 Nov '09 | News - Viva grabs 10% of Kuwait's mobile phone market
1 Nov '09 | News - Saudi Telecom posts 20% drop in Q3 net profit
20 Oct '09 | News
Zain
- Kuwait's Zain posts 52.8% drop in Q3 net profit
15 Nov '09 | News - Zain expects $1bn shortfall on 2009 revenue target
10 Nov '09 | News - BSNL to go direct to Zain if consortium talks fail
6 Nov '09 | News
Zain Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Mobily refinances SR1.5bn Islamic loan
11 Oct '09 | News - Zain Saudi Arabia seals $2.5bn loan
11 Aug '09 | News - Zain Saudi telco nears $2.5bn loan agreement
27 Jul '09 | News




