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Saudi Telecom Revenues Near $21 Billion in 2025

Saudi Telecom Company (stc) contributed around 80% of total profits during the first three quarters of 2025. (SPA)
Saudi Telecom Company (stc) contributed around 80% of total profits during the first three quarters of 2025. (SPA)
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Saudi Telecom Revenues Near $21 Billion in 2025

Saudi Telecom Company (stc) contributed around 80% of total profits during the first three quarters of 2025. (SPA)
Saudi Telecom Company (stc) contributed around 80% of total profits during the first three quarters of 2025. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s listed telecommunications companies posted strong financial results over the first nine months of 2025, supported by accelerated digital transformation, expanded infrastructure services, and rising demand for new technologies. The sector’s performance reflected sustained growth and resilience, with companies boosting overall profit levels and strengthening operational efficiency.

According to financial disclosures, the combined net profit of Saudi-listed telecom operators grew 5.72% in the first nine months of 2025, reaching SAR 14.46 billion ($3.86 billion), compared with SAR 13.68 billion ($3.65 billion) in the same period last year. Sector revenues hit SAR 80.46 billion ($21.45 billion) over the period.

Analysts attribute the strong performance to rising revenues, reduced operating costs, and continued expansion in data and digital services. Demand for 5G, cloud computing, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions has grown significantly in the Kingdom.

Industry research group Mordor Intelligence estimates the Saudi mobile communications market at $26.97 billion (SAR 101.14 billion) in 2025, with expectations to reach $37.19 billion (SAR 139.46 billion) by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 6.64%.

Four telecom operators are listed on the Saudi exchange (Tadawul): Saudi Telecom Company (stc), Mobily (Etihad Etisalat), Zain KSA (Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia), and GO (Etihad Atheeb Telecom), whose fiscal year ends in March rather than December.

stc dominated the sector’s results, contributing around 80% of total profits. The company posted net earnings of SAR 11.58 billion in the first nine months, an annual increase of 3.08%.

Mobily delivered the highest profit growth in the sector. Its net earnings rose 18.15% to SAR 2.51 billion, driven by higher revenues and improved cost efficiency.

Zain KSA ranked second in profit growth at 15.84%, reporting earnings of SAR 373 million, helped by lower operating expenses and improved credit provisions.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mohamed Hamdy Omar, CEO of G.World, noted that the sector’s third-quarter performance was “mixed,” despite a combined profit of SAR 5.17 billion for the three major companies.

He said the downturn compared with last year’s third quarter was mainly due to an 11.54% quarterly profit decline at stc, whose results heavily influence the market.

Mobily posted robust quarterly growth of 10.5%, while Zain KSA saw a modest 2% increase, supported by lower operating costs and improved provisioning. Overall sector revenues rose 4.6% year-on-year to SAR 26.86 billion, driven by expanding demand for digital and infrastructure services.

Market experts expect continued telecom growth, supported by expanding 5G usage, cloud and data center services, government digital programs under Vision 2030, and rising corporate demand for cybersecurity, AI, and cloud solutions.

Omar stressed the need for telecom operators to diversify portfolios into financial, entertainment, and technology sectors to reinforce competitiveness.

Financial analyst Nasser Alrasheed told Asharq Al-Awsat that telecom profits reflect strong digital investment, innovation, and expanding data consumption. He expects continued earnings growth as operators enhance network quality, cut financing costs, and invest in big data and artificial intelligence services.

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Business

China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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China Says It Will Buy 200 Boeing Jets, Seek Extension of US Trade Truce

Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Signage is displayed above The Boeing Company booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week at the Tampa Convention Center on May 19, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

China on Wednesday said it will buy 200 Boeing jets and seek an extension of a trade truce struck with the US that is set to expire this November.

The statement marked Beijing's first confirmation of the Boeing order, though it did not elaborate on the types of planes China would buy.

If finalized, the orders would mark Boeing's first major Chinese deal in nearly a decade, after the US planemaker was largely shut out of the world's second-largest aviation market amid trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

US President Donald Trump visited China last week ‌for a summit ‌with President Xi Jinping, in a trip that produced ‌a series ⁠of trade pledges ⁠including the Boeing purchase and agricultural market access.

Trump said after the Beijing summit that the Boeing purchases could rise to as many as 750 planes, adding that they would be fitted with GE Aerospace engines.

The US will provide China with supply guarantees for aircraft engine parts and components under the Boeing deal, the Chinese ministry said.

TRADE TRUCE

The two sides will seek reciprocal tariff cuts on $30 billion or more worth of goods each, the ⁠ministry said, adding that US tariffs on China must not ‌exceed the level set under an arrangement reached ‌last year.

China and the US reached an agreement in Kuala Lumpur before a Trump-Xi meeting in ‌South Korea in October that extended their tariff truce for a year.

The deal ‌included US tariff reductions on Chinese products and a pause in Beijing's new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets, which are vital for technologies like consumer electronics, electric vehicles and defense.

The statement came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that the Trump administration ‌was "not in a rush" to extend the tariff and critical minerals trade truce with China, signaling more trade talks with Beijing ⁠in the coming months ⁠to renew it.

Both sides will work together to address each other's concerns on export controls, the ministry said, adding that Beijing reviews export license applications for critical minerals including rare earths that are intended for civilian uses.

The White House said in a fact sheet released on Sunday that China would purchase at least $17 billion of US agricultural products from 2026 to 2028, excluding the existing soybean commitment.

The Chinese commerce ministry statement did not confirm the number, but said the two sides achieved "positive results" in the agricultural sector and reached agreements on mutual market access.

Beijing will restore registration of eligible US beef exporters and resume imports of some US poultry products, the ministry said.

The US has pledged to remove or make progress on several non-tariff barriers affecting Chinese agricultural exports, with steps that would facilitate exports of Chinese dairy products, it added.

Business

UK Inflation Slows to 2.8% in April

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
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UK Inflation Slows to 2.8% in April

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves arrives at Downing Street in London , Britain, 13 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL

British consumer price inflation slowed to 2.8% in April from 3.3% in March, according to official figures published on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected inflation to soften to 3.0%, in large part due to the big increases in utility and other regulated prices in April last year falling out of the annual comparison.

Before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, the Bank of England said inflation in Britain - the highest among the Group of Seven economies for much of the last four years - was likely to be close ⁠to its 2% ⁠target in April.

But the energy price shock from the war prompted the BoE to increase sharply its inflation forecasts which, it says, could hit 6.2% early next year under its most inflationary scenario.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to announce on Thursday more measures to help ⁠reduce the cost of living, including a possible cancellation of a fuel duty increase which is due to come into effect in September.

The finance ministry is also pressing supermarket chains to introduce voluntary price caps on key food products in return for easing some regulations, two people with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.

The key question for the BoE's interest rate-setters is whether the expected rise in headline inflation creates longer-term price pressures in the economy.

Several have said the ⁠weak ⁠jobs market could make it harder for workers to demand higher pay and for businesses to pass on higher costs.

Preliminary data from the tax office published on Tuesday showed a sharp fall in people in payrolled employment and weaker pay growth. Wage settlement figures published earlier on Wednesday pointed to a slowdown in pay growth too.

Financial markets on Tuesday were betting on two quarter-point interest rate rises by the BoE this year, with a chance of a third. A Reuters poll of economists published last week showed most expected no change in rates in 2026.

Business

Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics
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Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

Union Calls Strike at South Korea Chip Giant Samsung Electronics

A planned strike at South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics will go ahead from Thursday, its union said, after talks on bonus payouts collapsed, raising concerns over a disruption to the country's key semiconductor industry.

The walkout, set to begin Thursday, is expected to dwarf a 2024 strike that drew about 6,000 workers at the world's top memory chipmaker.

The dispute centers on profit-sharing at a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain, with its chips widely used in artificial intelligence systems and consumer electronics.

The tech giant's shares have surged nearly 400 percent over the past year on the back of an AI boom, and saw its market capitalization top $1 trillion for the first time in May.

The union had called for the scrapping of a bonus cap set at 50 percent of annual salaries and for 15 percent of operating profit to be allocated to bonuses.

"Around 10:00 pm on May 19, the labor union agreed to the mediation proposal put forward by the National Labor Relations Commission; however, management expressed its refusal," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The labor union will lawfully commence a general strike tomorrow as scheduled."

According to the union's lawyer, around 50,500 workers are set to walk off production lines for 18 days from Thursday following the breakdown of negotiations with management.

Samsung's management said the talks failed because "acceding to the labor union's excessive demands would risk undermining the fundamental principles of the company's management".

"Under no circumstances should a strike take place," it said.

Concerns are growing within the South Korean government that a prolonged union strike could hurt the export-driven economy, with chips making up about 35 percent of exports.

South Korea's presidential office voiced "deep regret" over the collapse of the talks, urging both sides to keep working toward an agreement given the strike's "potential repercussions for the Korean economy".

Some experts say even a partial halt in Samsung's operations could prove damaging -- though the union argues that production stoppages have already occurred in the past for reasons related to maintenance and equipment inspections.

The government could invoke emergency mediation powers -- a measure that could halt strikes or other industrial action and trigger mediation if they are deemed a threat to the national economy.

But Tom Hsu, an analyst at Taipei-based research firm TrendForce, said the strike's potential impact may be limited.

"Due to the high level of automation in front-end facilities, TrendForce expects Samsung's DRAM and NAND Flash production to remain at full capacity," he told AFP.

"Any potential impact from the strike is likely to be confined to non-memory business segments."

A Suwon court this week granted Samsung Electronics an injunction requiring staffing and operations to be maintained at normal levels during any walkout.

Kim Sung-hee, director of Workers' Institute for the Industrial and Labor Policy, said that while the strike could cause losses, "they are unlikely to be irreversible".

The strike does not mean it would "automatically trigger an economic crisis," he told AFP.

Samsung is a major producer of chips used in everything from artificial intelligence to consumer electronics, raising the prospect that the planned strike could cause severe disruption and losses.

The company said this year it had begun mass production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, HBM4, seen as a key component for scaling up the vast data centers needed for AI development.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of an AI boom that is benefiting South Korean tech groups, boosting national growth and the stock market.

Both Samsung and its domestic rival SK hynix posted record profits in the first quarter, driven by global demand for AI chips.

Long staunchly anti-union, late founder Lee Byung-chul once vowed never to allow unions "until I have dirt over my eyes".

Samsung Electronics' first labor union was formed in the late 2010s.