STC's Financial Results Improve in H1 2018

STC's Financial Results Improve in H1 2018
TT

STC's Financial Results Improve in H1 2018

STC's Financial Results Improve in H1 2018

Saudi Telecoms achieved positive growth in their announced results for the first half of 2018, with an improvement of 3.33 percent compared to the same period of 2017.

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) supported the improvement in the financial results of the Telecom sector.

It announced achieving a total profit of SR5.03 billion ($1.34 billion) during the first half of 2018, recording a positive growth rate of 2.87 percent.

Zain Saudi Arabia, for its part, showed a remarkable improvement in the level of revenues achieved during the first half of 2018, which confirms the company's ability to move forward in expanding its market share and increase the efficiency of its operational capabilities.

While Saudi Arabia's Mobily reported a 51.2 percent improvement in reduction of losses in the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year.

The Saudi Telecom sector is expected to play a significant role in enhancing the investment attractiveness of the Saudi stock market, especially that the financial results of the sector have started to improve significantly since the Kingdom decided to reorganize the sector through a package of incentive legislation over the past two years.

These developments come as the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is working to raise the quality of telecommunications services in the country.

It has recently announced a new update to regulate the quality of service provided by licensed telecommunications service providers, explaining that the new update will enter into force starting from the fourth quarter of 2018.

"This update aims to develop CIT services, provide high-quality communication services to subscribers, stimulate competition among service providers and enhance customer transparency by disseminating the comparative data of service providers and ensuring a minimum quality of telecommunications services to subscribers," CITC said in this regard.

It stressed that these moves will stimulate digital transformation to achieve the objectives of the National Transformation Program 2020 and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.



Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
TT

Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.