With an investment in a Pakistani tower company, Saudi Telecom, the Middle East’s most profitable telecom giant, announced a renewed attempt to grow beyond its main mobile-network sector.
According to a statement, Saudi Telecom, which is managed by the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, claimed one of its businesses has purchased a 100% share in Pakistan-based Awal Telecom. After ventures into Indonesia and Turkey, STC is trying to expand its business lines and re-establish a presence outside of Saudi Arabia with the Pakistan contract.
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It also suggested acquiring a majority stake in Egypt’s Vodafone Group in a $2.4 billion deal in 2020. However, the talks were called off a few months later for an undisclosed reason. STC announced this month that it aims to spin off its data center, underwater cables, and points-of-presence assets into a new company in order to diversify into other areas. Last year, it broke out its internet services division and floated it on the Saudi stock exchange.
In addition, the company is expanding its digital bank, STC Pay, and has invested in a $500 million venture capital fund that was formed in 2017.
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