Recently, it was also reported that STC and its strategic partner Huwaei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) where they will work together for sustainable development, green initiatives, and social development while trying to develop their nation with zero digital divides. The agreement was signed by SVP of Corporate Affairs of STC, Abdullah Al-Kanhel and KSA Head of Huawei Sun Xiaofeng at the Mobile World Congress 2021 in Barcelona. The MoU was also attended by the CEO of STC, Olayan M. Al-Wetaid and Huawei President of ME Region Charles Yang.

The partnership will also see both the companies adopting global best practices in sustainable development while trying to set new standards for the responsibility in the ICT sector. This MoU also supports Saudi Green Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative which was launched by the Kingdom’s Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman to help fight climate change.

The initiative aims to improve vegetation cover, reduce carbon emissions, fight pollution and land loss, and preservation of marine life. The initiative also plans on planting 10 billion trees in the Kingdom in the coming years, which is equivalent to saving 40 million hectares of land. The initiative also plans on reducing carbon emissions by generating 50 percent of the Kingdom’s energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Image credits- Argaam.com

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The Saudi Press Agency released a statement, saying that the finance minister will issue the necessary licenses for STC Bank and Saudi Digital Bank, both under establishment. These objectives aim to develop a more efficient digital infrastructure while encouraging entrepreneurship, which will help to create job opportunities in the financial sector.

Finance minister Al-Jadaan said, “The cabinet’s decision to approve the licensing of two digital banks comes within the framework of developing the system of the financial sector, and contributing to the support and development of the national economy, by opening the way for new companies to provide financial service.”

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 includes developing the digital economy and enabling financial companies to support the growth of the private sector. Last year, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) issued licenses to 16 tech companies to provide payment services, consumer microfinance, and electronic insurance brokerage.
In 2018, Saudi Telecom launched its biggest telecom operator STC Pay which will now be converted into a digital bank with a capital of $667 million. Saudi telecom recently said it will invest an additional SR802 million to retain its 85 percent stake in STC Pay. Additionally, Western Union will invest an additional 750 million riyals to own 15 percent of the firm.

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The session was called “Reviving Business for a New Normal” and was carried out virtually by Saudi Arabia and the business chiefs of all G20 nations.

Yousef Al Benyan, chair of B20 Saudi Arabia told the media, “The only way to address a crisis of this scale and protect workers is through a coordinated response and ongoing discussions between the global business community and governments. We must also prioritize micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises across the world as they are being hardest hit and account for more than 80 percent of employment in many countries. We must safeguard their viability.”

Nasser Al Nasser, the Saudi Telecom chief executive and chair of the B20 Digitalisation Taskforce highlighted the importance of collaboration between governments and businesses to improve access to digital infrastructure, which will play a crucial role in the post-pandemic period.

Recently, health ministers of all G20 nations also held a similar virtual meeting to discuss strategies to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the global economy into recession.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, the current G20 chair, pledged $500 million to support global efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and urged other countries and organisations to help bridge an $8 billion financing gap.

The kingdom will forward around $150 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, $150 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations, and $200 million to other health organisations and programmes.

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This launch follows the first 5G launch in Kuwait which is ten-fold faster than the current 4G network. Zain is a prominent telecom player in the Kingdom and one of the leading telecom groups in the Middle East. 

Zain will gradually expand the 5G network to 26 cities with 2600 towers to serve 8.3 million customers by the end of the year. It has signed a three-year contract with Nokia for the 5G rollout. The 5G rollout in the Kingdom is in line with Vision 2030 to fulfill digital transformation goals. 

The 5G services will establish a robust research ground for students and professionals in artificial intelligence and virtual reality space. Also, it is expected to further fuel innovations in big data services in the Kingdom. 

Zain Vice Chairman & Group CEO, & Zain KSA Vice Chairman, Bader Al Kharafi, told the local media that, “5G will bring substantial change for the kingdom’s telecom industry, creating new business models and unlocking opportunities for many sectors such as financial, ICT, agricultural, tourism, entertainment, automotive, health, education and public sectors, to name a few.”

The launch comes at a time when Zain is excelling in operational performance. It will be able to offer 5G services to all business and individual customers at competitive prices in the Kingdom. The telecom provider has reached the highest profit of SR380 million during the first nine months of 2019, compared to a total of SR332 million last year. 

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