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Zain KSA Initiates 3 New Broadband Projects for Remote Areas

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Zain KSA Initiates 3 New Broadband Projects for Remote Areas

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah with CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) and Zain KSA signed an agreement to implement three high-speed wireless broadband projects for remote areas of the Kingdom as part of the Universal Service Fund.

The three projects are expected to provide service to more than 800,000 beneficiaries in 3,900 villages across 28 districts of Riyadh, Eastern Province, Asir Region and Makkah.

Zain KSA confirmed on Sunday that it will exert all efforts to contribute into achieving the objectives of the National Transition Program (NTP) 2020 and Vision 2030.

The agreement was signed by CITC Governor Abdulaziz bin Salem al-Ruwais and Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia Prince Nayef bin Sultan at the presence of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Sawah.

Prince Nayef lauded the efforts the communications ministry aiming at achieving NPT 2020 and Vision 2030 goals, confirming Zain's commitment to contribute in reaching those goals.

CEO of Zain KSA Sultan bin Abdulazizi al-Deghaither stated that the three high-speed broadband projects for remote areas include providing services to more than 800,000 users in 3,900 villages across 28 districts of each of Riyadh, Eastern Province, Asir Region and Makkah.

Deghaither reiterated that Zain KSA had invested heavily in developing its network, which provides high-end technologies during implementation.

These projects include the provision of high-speed broadband services to centers, villages and remote areas in various regions of the kingdom by enhancing investment in infrastructure and increasing wireless broadband networks coverage. Projects will also contribute to facilitating use of e-government services in achieving digital transformation.

Zain Saudi Arabia stocks rose 5.8 percent on Sunday after the company signed the agreement with CITC.

These developments came as CITC launched its index on monitoring the latest developments in information technology and communications sector in the Kingdom by the end of the second quarter of 2017.

According to CITC, the number of subscribers to telecommunications services which reached about 43.6 million subscriptions, of which 3.75 million are for postpaid lines, while subscriptions to mobile broadband services on mobile networks reached about 25.2 million.

The number of subscriptions to fixed-line broadband services reached 3.2 million, including DSL, fixed wireless connections, fiber optics and other wired lines.

As for the number of internet users in Saudi Arabia, CITC said that the number of Internet users in the country reached 24 million users.

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Gulf Petrochemical Sector Faces Mounting Challenges Amid Global Shifts

A SABIC facility in Jilin, China (Company photo)
A SABIC facility in Jilin, China (Company photo)
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Gulf Petrochemical Sector Faces Mounting Challenges Amid Global Shifts

A SABIC facility in Jilin, China (Company photo)
A SABIC facility in Jilin, China (Company photo)

Over the past five years, the Gulf’s petrochemical industry has found itself at a critical juncture. A mix of rapid geopolitical developments, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a slowdown in global economic growth, particularly in key markets like China and other parts of Asia, has disrupted longstanding business models and cast uncertainty over the future of the sector.

Industry experts and analysts, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, pointed to a convergence of four primary challenges facing Gulf petrochemical companies today. Among them are weak innovation strategies, limited domestic downstream capabilities, ongoing geopolitical volatility affecting supply chains, and increasingly stringent global environmental regulations on hydrocarbon-based products.

Fares Al-Qadheebi, an expert in international strategic partnerships and a member of the Saudi Economic Association, stressed that Gulf petrochemical firms must undergo a strategic transformation to remain viable.

He argued that the industry’s traditional reliance on government-subsidized feedstock is no longer sufficient in an evolving market landscape. For decades, these subsidies provided a competitive advantage. However, with subsidies gradually being phased out or restructured, companies now face mounting pressure to pivot toward higher-value, specialized products that align with strategic industries and evolving global demand.

The challenge, Al-Qadheebi said, lies in the sector’s historically low investment in research and development. Financial disclosures from several companies reflect limited R&D expenditure, resulting in a lag in innovation and product diversification. This hampers the ability of Gulf producers to shift from commodity chemicals to advanced materials that could drive future profitability.

At the same time, the region’s domestic manufacturing sector remains underdeveloped. Despite various industrial localization initiatives, Gulf countries continue to rely heavily on export markets, primarily China and India. This overreliance has left companies vulnerable to external shocks and market shifts, making it difficult to redirect surplus production into local value-added industries.

Geopolitical uncertainty is compounding the problem. Disruptions to global supply chains due to regional conflicts and shifting trade alliances have introduced logistical challenges and pricing volatility. This has forced some international buyers to seek alternative suppliers in more stable regions, undermining long-term relationships and jeopardizing the sector’s global competitiveness.

The rise of protectionist policies, particularly in the United States, has also led Gulf companies to reconsider their exposure to the American market and explore options such as relocating parts of their operations overseas.

Adding to the pressure are global environmental policies that increasingly target carbon-intensive products. Gulf producers are being pushed to develop low-emission technologies and environmentally compliant alternatives. While necessary, such changes significantly increase development and production costs and complicate market access.

Financial analyst Tareq Al-Atiq noted that these combined pressures have eroded profitability across much of the sector, with few signs of a swift recovery. He stressed the need for mergers, strategic alliances, and investments in carbon capture technologies to reduce operating costs and reposition the industry in growth markets, particularly in emerging economies with rising demand for plastics, fertilizers, and other petrochemical derivatives.

Looking ahead, experts suggest that the Gulf’s petrochemical giants must work more cohesively - potentially in an OPEC-style alliance - to coordinate production, innovation strategies, and market expansion efforts, or risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive global landscape.