RIYADH, 2 August — The Saudi Telecom Co. has announced a record sale of 800,000 prepaid mobile chips (Sawa Cards) worth SR160 million since their launch on April 27.
Releasing these figures to Arab News, Saleh Al-Jasser, general manager, Media Affairs at STC assured its customers that the company would continue to streamline its services in preparation for the privatization of the telecom sector. Sawa cards have become highly popular among the expatriates who constitute more than 70 percent of STC’s clintele.
According to Saud Al-Duwaysh, vice chairman of STC, Saudis account for 29 percent of their customers followed by Indians and Filipinos, with their share of 17 percent and 14 percent respectively.
The prepaid cards, priced at SR 200 each, are sold through 252 STC offices and 10 approved distributors with a network of 70 branches Kingdomwide.
Asked whether the company would have the same degree of freedom in determining the price of its services, Al-Jasser said "any price-cutting move will have to be discussed first with the Saudi Telecom Authority." Last month the STC had announced that it would slash its international telephone charges by up to 63 percent to a number of countries. The price-cutting move has since been put on hold.
Hived off from the Ministry of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones and set up as an independent entity in 1998 with SR12 billion capital, the STC will still enjoy monopoly in certain key telecom services.
Al-Jasser said STC shares would be floated toward the end of this year.
Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank (GIB) was engaged in a study to determine its share value.
Anywhere up to 30 percent of STC’s stocks would be open for subscription to Saudi citizens in line with a Cabinet decision. The flotation is expected to fetch between SR11-15 billion.
