Mobily’s financial issues hurt telecom sector, Tadawul: Zain Saudi CEO

Ongoing financial issues at Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) are negatively impacting Saudi Arabia’s telecom sector, as well as the kingdom’s stock market, Hassan Kabbani, CEO of Saudi Zain, told reporters on Monday during a press conference in Riyadh.

Kabbani called for a level playing field for all telecom operators in the country.

Earlier this month, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the kingdom’s market regulator, referred a case involving Mobily officials to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution. Nine suspects are currently being investigated for possible insider trading.

Earlier this year, the kingdom’s second-largest operator reported a $243 million loss for 2014, after restating earnings in November. It attributed the discrepancy to accounting errors and has been under investigation by the CMA since.

Zain Saudi is the country’s third-largest mobile operator with about 10 million subscribers.