Once set up, STC will transfer its data centres, international submarine cables and international points of presence assets to the new company
In a move that aims to establish Saudi Arabia as the region’s digital hub connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) is planning to invest 3.8 billion riyals ($1 billion) for setting up a fully-owned data connectivity company.
The new company will have an initial capital of 100 million riyals financed by STC from its own resources and will specialise in data centre hosting, international and regional connectivity, the telecoms provider said in a filing to the Tadawul bourse.
Once set up, STC will transfer its data centres, international submarine cables and international points of presence assets to the new company, whose initial valuation amounted to approximately 2.1 billion riyals as of December 2021.
Further, the new company will inject 1.7 billion riyals as additional investment, which brings the total investment to 3.8 billion riyals.
“These assets and investments will be subject to a detailed evaluation at a later stage in order to determine their final valuation, in addition to determining the final capital needed for the new company upon completion of the necessary regulatory requirements”, the statement said.
Leveraging Saudi Arabia’s geographical location at the heart of the Middle East, STC expects the data company will boost Saudi Arabia’s current position as the region’s digital hub connecting Asia, Africa and Europe.
The new company will manage and continue to invest in submarine cables including new ones landing in multiple points of Saudi Arabia.
STC sold a 20 per cent stake in its technology business, Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co., raising nearly $1 billion in an IPO last year.
Also read: CIO News interviews Shri Wangki Lowang, Minister (IT) of Arunachal Pradesh
Do Follow: CIO News LinkedIn Account | CIO News Facebook | CIO News Youtube | CIO News Twitter
About us:
CIO News, a proprietary of Mercadeo, produces award-winning content and resources for IT leaders across any industry through print articles and recorded video interviews on topics in the technology sector such as Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Cloud, Robotics, Cyber-security, Data, Analytics, SOC, SASE, among other technology topics
