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Revenue Growth, Improved Operational Efficiency Boost Profitability of Saudi Telecom Companies

A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)
A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)
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Revenue Growth, Improved Operational Efficiency Boost Profitability of Saudi Telecom Companies

A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)
A man monitors the movement of stocks on the Saudi Tadawul index. (AFP)

Telecommunications companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) achieved a 12.46 percent growth in their net profits, which reached SAR 4.07 billion ($1.09 billion) during the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 3.62 billion ($965 million) during the same period last year.

They also recorded a 4.76 percent growth in revenues during the same quarter, after achieving sales worth more than SAR 26.18 billion ($7 billion), compared to SAR 24.99 billion ($6.66 billion) in the same quarter of 2023.

The growth in the revenues and net profitability is the result of several factors, including the increase in sales volume and revenues, especially in the business sector and fifth generation services, as well as the decrease in operating expenses and the focus on improving operational efficiency, controlling costs, and moving towards investment in infrastructure.

The sector comprises four companies, three of which conclude their fiscal year in December: Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily, and Zain Saudi Arabia. The fiscal year of Etihad Atheeb Telecommunications Company (GO) ends on March 31.

According to its financial results announced on Tadawul, Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) achieved a 33 percent growth rate of profits, bringing its profits to SAR 661 million by the end of the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 497 million during the same period in 2023. The company also achieved a 4.59 percent growth in revenues to reach SAR 4.47 billion, compared to SAR 4.27 billion in the same quarter of last year.

The Saudi Telecom Company achieved the highest net profits among the sector’s companies, at about SAR 3.304 billion in the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 3.008 billion in the same quarter of 2023. The company registered a growth of 4.52 percent in revenues.

On the other hand, the revenues of the Saudi Mobile Telecommunications Company (Zain Saudi Arabia) increased by about 6.69 percent, as it recorded SAR 2.55 billion during the second quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 2.39 billion in the same period last year.

Commenting on the quarterly results of the sector’s companies, and the varying net profits, the head of asset management at Rassanah Capital, Thamer Al-Saeed, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Saudi Telecom Company remains the sector leader in terms of customer base expansion.

He also noted the continued efforts of Mobily and Zain to offer many diverse products and other services.

Financial advisor at the Arab Trader Mohammed Al-Maymouni said the financial results of telecom sector companies have maintained a steady growth, up to 12 percent, adding that Mobily witnessed strong progress compared to the rest of the companies, despite the great competition which affected its revenues.

He added that Zain was moving at a good pace and its revenues have improved during the second quarter of 2024. However, its profits were affected by an increase in the financing cost by SAR 26.5 million riyals and a rise in interest, while net income declined significantly compared to the previous year, during which the company made exceptional returns.

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Business

EU-Mercosur Trade Deal Signing Delayed as Italy Demands More Time

Riot police intervenes during farmers' protest in Brussels, Belgium, 18 December 2025. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS
Riot police intervenes during farmers' protest in Brussels, Belgium, 18 December 2025. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS
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EU-Mercosur Trade Deal Signing Delayed as Italy Demands More Time

Riot police intervenes during farmers' protest in Brussels, Belgium, 18 December 2025. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS
Riot police intervenes during farmers' protest in Brussels, Belgium, 18 December 2025. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and EU executive chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed confidence on Friday that the European Union would be able to sign a contentious free trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur in January, despite insufficient backing at an EU summit.

The European Commission president had been due to travel to Brazil for a signing ceremony on Saturday, but this was reliant on approval from a broad majority of EU members. A demand from Italy for more time meant it did not have enough support.

Von der Leyen still talked of a "breakthrough" after the summit ended early on Friday, Reuters reported.

"We need a few extra weeks to address some issues with member states, and we have reached out to our Mercosur partners and agreed to postpone slightly ‌the signature of ‌this deal," she told a press conference.

Brazilian President Luiz ‌Inacio ⁠Lula da Silva ‌told a press conference on Thursday he had learned of the delay of up to a month from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and would consult Mercosur partners at their summit on Saturday on next steps.

Meloni said in a statement that Italy was ready to support the agreement once agricultural concerns were resolved, which she said could happen quickly.

Merz told reporters an extra few weeks for Meloni to win over her own government and parliament was not a problem. "This means that Mercosur can now definitely enter into force. Following the Italian government's approval, I remain hopeful that the French government may also decide to give its consent," he said.

Some 25 years in ⁠the making, the trade pact with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay would be the EU's largest in terms of tariff cuts. Germany, Spain and Nordic countries say ‌it will boost exports hit by US tariffs and reduce reliance on China by ‍securing access to minerals.

But critics, including France and Italy, ‍fear an influx of cheap commodities that could hurt European farmers. The EU summit from Thursday sparked an anti-deal protest ‍by about 7,000 people, mostly farmers, which turned violent. Belgian police fired tear gas and water cannon after protesters hurled potatoes and rocks and smashed windows.

Poland and Hungary oppose the pact, while France and Italy remain nervous about increased imports of beef, sugar, poultry and other goods. The deal needs approval from EU governments, requiring a majority of 15 countries representing 65% of the bloc's population. Italy's stance is pivotal.

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is the EU's largest agricultural producer, said the agreement was unacceptable in its current form and that it was too early to say whether protections being ⁠put in place would meet France's conditions.

"We're not satisfied," he told a press conference. "We need to have these advances so that the text changes in nature, so that we can talk about a different agreement," he said.

In France, anger over the government's handling of lumpy skin disease, a virus affecting cattle, has deepened farmer discontent over issues including the Mercosur pact. Farmers in the southwest have blocked highways for days. Wary of nationwide protests like those two years ago, Paris is rushing to vaccinate cattle while maintaining its opposition to the deal.

EU lawmakers and governments reached a provisional agreement on Wednesday on safeguards to cap imports of sensitive farm products such as beef and sugar and soften resistance. The European Commission is also preparing a declaration pledging aligned production standards.

Macron said reciprocity was essential so the EU did not open its markets to cheap imports produced under looser rules, such as pesticide use.

Some tractors that jammed Brussels streets on Thursday carried banners echoing Macron’s skepticism.

"Why import sugar from the other side of the world when we produce the ‌best right here? Stop Mercosur," read one sign.

Business

TikTok Signs Deal to Sell US Entity to American Investors

FILE – In this July 21, 2020 file photo, a man opens social media app ‘TikTok’ on his cell phone, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File) 
FILE – In this July 21, 2020 file photo, a man opens social media app ‘TikTok’ on his cell phone, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File) 
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TikTok Signs Deal to Sell US Entity to American Investors

FILE – In this July 21, 2020 file photo, a man opens social media app ‘TikTok’ on his cell phone, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File) 
FILE – In this July 21, 2020 file photo, a man opens social media app ‘TikTok’ on his cell phone, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File) 

TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance signed binding agreements to form a joint venture that will hand control of operations of TikTok's US app to American and global investors, according to a memo by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew seen by Reuters.

The deal, set to close on January 22, would end years of efforts to force ByteDance to divest its US business over national security concerns.

According to an internal memo cited by Bloomberg and Axios, TikTok CEO Shou Chew told employees that the social media company as well as its Chinese owner ByteDance had agreed to the new entity, with Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX on board as major investors.

Oracle’s executive chairman and founder Larry Ellison is a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump.

Chew said that ByteDance will retain around 20% of the new joint venture — the maximum ownership allowed for a Chinese company under the law.

The deal largely confirms a September announcement by the White House that said the new venture would meet the requirements of a 2024 law that threatened to ban the wildly popular app in the United States if ByteDance stayed majority owner.

The new set-up for TikTok is in response to a law passed under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, that has forced ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.

US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, have warned that China could use TikTok to mine data from Americans or exert influence through its state-of-the-art algorithm.

Chew said the US joint venture would operate as an independent entity with authority over “US data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance.”

Trump in September had specifically named Oracle boss Ellison, one of the world’s richest men, as a major player in the arrangement.

Ellison has returned to the spotlight through his dealings with Trump, who has brought his old friend into major AI partnerships with OpenAI.

Ellison has also financed his son David’s recent takeover of Paramount and is involved in his son’s bidding war with Netflix to take over Warner Bros.

 

 

 

Business

Canada, US to Launch Formal Talks to Review Free Trade Agreement in Mid-January

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable
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Canada, US to Launch Formal Talks to Review Free Trade Agreement in Mid-January

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canada and the US will launch formal discussions to review their free trade agreement in mid-January, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

The prime minister confirmed to provincial leaders that Dominic LeBlanc, the country’s point person for US-Canada trade relations, “will meet with US counterparts in mid-January to launch formal discussions," Carney’s office said in a statement late Thursday.

The United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, or USMCA, is up for review in 2026. US President Donald Trump negotiated the deal in his first term and included a clause to possibly renegotiate the deal in 2026.

Carney met with the leaders of Canada’s provinces on Thursday to give them an update on trade talks with the US.

Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the country's southern neighbor. But most exports to the US are currently exempted by USMCA.

Trump cut off trade talks to reduce tariffs on certain sectors with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the US. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump’s insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.

Carney said earlier Thursday that Canada and the US were close to an agreement at the time on sectoral tariff relief in multiple areas, including steel and aluminum. Tariffs are taking a toll on certain sectors of Canada's economy, particularly aluminum, steel, auto and lumber.

Carney also said trade irritants flagged this week by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are elements of a “much bigger discussion” about continental trade. Greer said a coming review of the Canada-US-Mexico trade deal will hinge on resolving US concerns about Canadian policies on dairy products, alcohol and digital services.

Carney and the provincial premiers agreed to meet in person in Ottawa early in the new year.

Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85% of US electricity imports.

Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.

Carney said US access to Canada’s critical ministers is not a certainty.

“It’s a potential opportunity for the United States, but it’s not an assured opportunity for the United States. It’s part of a bigger discussion in terms of our trading relationship, because we have other partners around the world, in Europe for example, who are very interested in participating,” Carney said earlier Thursday.