RIYADH, 30 September 2006 — Saudi Telecom Company (STC) will become a major player in e-business in the Kingdom by contributing half of Saudi Tejari Company’s capital. The new venture is the first B2B ebusiness facilitator in the Middle East.
Saudi Tejari Company is a limited stock company, partnered between Technical Investments Company and National Company for Information Systems.
STC President Saud Al-Dewish said in a statement to the press that the new initiative reflects STC’s efforts to diversify its investments in various fields that would benefit the private and public sectors and the people in the Kingdom.
The new company, headquartered in Riyadh, will focus on constructing, operating and managing electronic markets and providing platforms to facilitate electronic sales, purchases, conduct auctions and deal with all types of commercial transactions between establishments and companies in both public and private sectors.
“STC’s participation in the establishment of Saudi Tejari comes as part of STC investment strategy aiming at expanding its activities by entering new markets and enhancing the use of STC network and diversifying its activities which would benefit its stakeholders,” Dewish added.
He also indicated that the establishment of the new company comes in the wake of new developments that are taking place in the field of egovernment in Saudi Arabia. Under the “Yusr” program, the Kingdom has allocated SR3 billion ($800 million) to implement the infrastructure required for its e-government programs. It will provide 150 electronic government services with 1,000 secondary services through 40 government authorities.
Dewish predicted that the new trends in the field of e-government in the Kingdom would create an increased demand for modern electronic solutions.
He explained that Saudi Tejari’s services would facilitate public and private sector companies to reach their target markets through e-business.
The new service will also enable electronic banking settlement scheme and eventually develop the Saudi economy.
STC is one of the 20 top telecom operators in terms of revenues and was ranked among the 15 top operators in terms of profits. It is also one of the 15 top operators in terms of diversified activities in emerging markets. At the national level, STC was ranked the second among the top 100 local companies.
Saudi Tejari will enable sellers and buyers to exchange information and services within a web based electronic environment. It will provide a single point of contact for an open and growing commercial community allowing sellers and buyers to make their offers and participate in auctions and transact regular commercial activities electronically by minimizing the cost of traditional forms of transactions.