RIYADH, 24 February 2006 — Saudi Telecom Company scooped the GCC Economic Leader award for Saudi Arabia at the annual GCC Economic Award’s ceremony Wednesday, the company announced here yesterday.
Held at the Burj Al-Arab Hotel in Dubai, the awards ceremony was attended by members of the Royal family, ministers, diplomats, senior government officials and CEOs including guest speaker former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Upon receiving the award, STC’s president Saud Al-Daweesh said: “This is a great achievement for STC, in the current era of globalization; the GCC has a prominent role to play in the world economy. Recent years have seen many developments in the region, such as economic reforms, diversified economy, free trade agreements, real estate developments and foreign investment. People in all parts of the world believe that the region will emerge as a major economic contributor in the near future and we are proud to be part of this transformation.”
Apart from their contribution to the economic and business success, Daweesh added that the judges also looked for their commitment to social causes and development of the under-privileged sections of the Saudi society and STC’s achievements in supporting educational initiatives and national employment programs.
Laeli Al-Kamali, chairman of the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute, commented during the ceremony, “We are pleased to present this award to STC. The awards program honors economic leaders or organizations from the GCC countries who took up challenges in setting up businesses, industries and agriculture not just to make a profit, but to make a contribution to the economy and society as a whole. We are proud to bestow STC with this award for the leading role they have played in ensuring GCC’s diversified economy becomes our greatest strength in the 21st century.”
The awards are presented to “GCC economic leaders and businesses for their exceptional vision, drive, persistence and results.
The award is designed to recognize individuals and organizations who own, manage and create successful initiatives that have had a significant impact on the development and enhancement of the GCC economy. The panel of judges, made up of analysts and top executives from regional and global organizations unanimously chose STC to receive this prestigious award. STC is the GCC’s and KSA’s second largest company, with over 22,000 employees, according to research carried out by Shuaa Capital and with over 88% of its employees are Saudi nationals. The company recently won an award presented by Prince Naif for the achievements it had made of recruiting approximately 7,500 people in the past six years. “Year 2006 will see a new era in communication technology when STC will introduce its 3G service. STC has over 12 million customers,” a spokesman from the STC said.