JEDDAH, 25 January 2003 — Saudi Telecom Company has temporarily blocked about 300,000 SAWA chips as part of a clampdown on black market and efforts to protect the interests of the clients.
Jameel Al-Molhem, marketing manager of the mobile phones division, told Al-Riyadh newspaper that the company took the action after receiving many complaints from the customers.
He said some distributors and a growing black market have created chaos in the market. “Some individuals subscribed to more than 50 numbers and sold them on the black market at comparatively high prices,” Al-Molhem said.
“They also sold these numbers without registering information about users,” he pointed out.
STC launched its long-awaited prepaid mobile service called SAWA last April. The company has so far issued more than 2.25 million SAWA chips.
“We have taken a number of security measures to address this serious problem,” Al-Molhem said, adding that SAWA chips would not be activated without feeding relevant information.
The users who purchased SAWA chips from private parties without providing relevant information must visit the nearest STC office and fill up a special form to get their cards reactivated, he explained.
“We introduced the new system two weeks ago,” Molhem said.
Earlier, subscribers could reactivate their SAWA cards by feeding the new SAWA numbers.
STC on stock exchange: STC shares will be listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (SSE) beginning today. The opening price will be SR170 per share.
The company recently floated 30 percent of its shares for public subscription. Saudi investors bought 60 million shares while 30 million shares were allocated to the General Organization for Social Insurance and the Pension Fund.
Jamaz Al-Suhaimy, deputy governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, said all banks have submitted their electronic files containing information about investors who have purchased the shares. The STC raised SR37.24 billion from the sale.
Nearly one million Saudis bought the shares during the flotation.
Finance and National Economy Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf said STC’s listing on the Stock Exchnage would bolster the Saudi stock market, as it would open a new channel for Saudi investors.
He said the Council of Ministers fixed the face value of STC shares at SR170 on the basis of certain criteria such as profitability.
“I don’t think the trading of STC shares would have any negative effect on the stock market,” Al-Assaf said, adding that the company had announced the plan well in advance.
However, he pointed out that the market situation would depend on the decision of investors and how they compare the positions of various companies.
The market value of companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange is estimated at more than SR280 billion by the end of last year.
