Tower merger plan with Mobily 'on track', says Saudi Telecom CEO

Saudi Telecom Co. has completed studies for a planned tower merger with Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) and both telcos have agreed on hiring a financial adviser, STC's chief executive Khalid Biyari told Al-Arabiya TV on Thursday, without giving more details.

The tower merger plan is "on track", Biyari said, adding that it would take time due to the very complex nature of the process.

The kingdom's top two operators have been considering a merger of their tower in order to cut costs.

Biyari added that the local telecom sector is facing major challenges due to technical and regulatory issues, in addition to economic slowdown which has weighed negatively on all market players.

Biyari also said that the number of STC's subscribers was flat by the end of Q2 2017.

The sector, however, is expected to see strong growth amid a shift toward digital economy, given that the telecom industry and infrastructure serve as the backbone of digital economy.

Biyari said STC is also optimistic about winning the third mobile license in Oman, where it is planning to offer advanced services.  

The Kingdom's largest telecom operator reported a 7 percent year-on-year rise in Q2 net profit to SAR 2.37 billion.

The telecom operator's Q2 net profit was driven by the encouraging performance of operations in overseas markets, such as Kuwait, Bahrain and Malaysia.

In the last two quarters, STC has focused on improving operations rather than cost cuts which reflected positively on the second-quarter results, he added.