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Saudi Arabia Fully Acquires Awal Telecom in Pakistan

Saudi Arabia Fully Acquires Awal Telecom in Pakistan
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Saudi Arabia Fully Acquires Awal Telecom in Pakistan

Saudi Arabia Fully Acquires Awal Telecom in Pakistan

TAWAL, the leading Saudi ICT infrastructure company and one of stc Group subsidiaries, its full acquisition of Awal Telecom in Pakistan.

The move, which is TAWAL’s first of its kind, is an initial step in the company’s international expansion outside Saudi Arabia.

The deal is to see AWAL rebranded as TAWAL Pakistan and form the launchpad of TAWAL’s operations in the country following the regulatory approval from the Pakistani authorities.

AWAL, a fully licensed operation by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, currently builds and operates in the country’s northwest region primarily.

Chief Executive officer of stc Group Olayan Alwetaid said: “We are very pleased of TAWAL’s entry into Pakistan market as one of stc Group subsidiaries. TAWAL is looking forward to fruitful partnerships with the country’s mobile network operators and meeting the demand for robust telecommunications infrastructure there."

“We believe that TAWAL is in a strong position to extend its footprint outside Saudi Arabia and are exploring opportunities in key markets regionally and globally.”

For his part, Cchief executive officer of TAWAL Mohammed Alhakbani said: “Pakistan is an exciting market with high growth potential, and TAWAL is looking forward to extending our digital transformation and ICT infrastructure development capabilities to the country."

With four major mobile network operators servicing 238 million people, Pakistan is the 5th most populous country after China, India, the United States and Indonesia (excluding the European Union).

The country currently has over 189 million cellular subscribers and 108 million-plus 3G/4G subscribers, with mobile voice and mobile broadband subscriptions having seen double-digit growth in recent years.

TAWAL owns over 15,500 telecom towers in Saudi Arabia. It operates in the Kingdom under a license to provide wholesale services for infrastructure that was issued by the Communications and Information Technology Commission in 2019.

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Oil up 1% on Potential for US-China Talks, Iraq Output Cut Plan

OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Oil up 1% on Potential for US-China Talks, Iraq Output Cut Plan

OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Oil prices rose around 1% on Wednesday, as the market drew some strength from the possibility of trade talks between China and the United States and a report that Iraq will cut oil production in April.

Brent crude futures rose 70 cents, or 1.08%, to $65.37 a barrel by 1311 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was also up 70 cents, or 1.14%, at $62.03.

Prices rose after a Bloomberg report quoted an anonymous source as saying that China wants more respect from the Trump administration before it will agree to talks, analysts said.

The source was also quoted as saying China wanted the US to appoint a new primary contact in future talks.

"A de-escalation of the trade war between the US and China would reduce the downside in economic growth prospects and limit the downside for oil demand growth," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Adding to bullish sentiment in the oil market on Wednesday, Iraq aims to cut April output by 70,000 barrels per day in April in the face of pressure to meet its OPEC+ targets, Bloomberg reported.

Price gains, however, were limited by expectations from the International Energy Agency on Tuesday that global oil demand will grow at its slowest for five years in 2025.

The World Trade Organization sharply cut its forecast for global merchandise trade on Wednesday, adding that US tariffs could bring about the heaviest slump since the height of the COVID pandemic.

Concerns over Trump's escalating tariffs, combined with rising output from the OPEC+ group comprising OPEC and allies such as Russia, have dragged oil prices down by about 13% this month.

The uncertainty surrounding trade tensions has led several banks, including UBS, BNP Paribas and HSBC, to cut their crude price forecasts.

Trump has ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to impose retaliatory duties on US imports in an intensifying trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Data on Wednesday showed China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, beating the 5.1% expected in a Reuters poll.

"The better than expected performance was precipitated by exporters front-loading shipments ahead of the implementation of US excise duties on Chinese goods and, in all probability, will not be repeated for the rest of the year as the two biggest economies in the world are doing their best to decouple," said PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga.