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Gulf telcos flexing investment might amid drive to become global brands

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - APRIL 02: The many pylons that provide power to Dubai are seen in the desert on April 2, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Commerce and Industry is currently thriving in Dubai and Indian and Pakistani expatriot workers are the backbone of the workforce, sending money back to their families at home. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
To:

Al-Monitor Readers

From:

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst, Al-Monitor

Date:

April 28, 2024

Bottom Line:

After investing billions into Europe in 2023, Gulf telecom giants are dialing up more moves: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund announced on April 22 that it will pay $2.3 billion for a 51% stake in Telecommunication Towers Company, or Tawal, a subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company (STC). That provides a balance sheet boost for STC, potentially paving way for more dealmaking. Case in point: reports surfaced on April 24 that STC may bid on a unit of Spanish mobile phone tower operator Cellnex. These moves play into a larger plan to turn the state-backed telco into a global player amid Riyadh’s sprawling economic diversification drive, with STC tasked with helping develop the kingdom’s digital economy. Simultaneously, Emirati rival e& (formerly Etisalat) is also making similar moves to reinvent itself as a global technology player and investor.