Kuwait Telecommunications Company (stc), a world-class digital leader providing innovative services and platforms to customers, enabling the digital transformation in Kuwait, announces winning the 1st position as “the Leading Corporate Investor Relations”, in addition to its position amongst the top 5 companies in the Middle East, at the Middle East Investor Relations Association “MEIRA” Annual Conference and Awards held on the 25th October 2021. stc’s CEO, Eng. Maziad Alharbi, was selected amongst the top 5 CEOs for Investor Relations in the Middle East for the year 2021 across various industries. On the other hand, stc’s Investor Relations and M&A General Manager, Mr. Wassim M. El Hayek, was ranked the 1st as the Best Investor Relations Professional in Kuwait in addition to ranking stc’s Digital Annual Report in the second position for mid cap companies in the MENA region for the year 2020.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, digital platforms were the major communication channel between IR professionals of leading corporates and investors around the world. However, with the start of the gradual return to normal life all around the world, this year MEIRA was able to enhance the communication between the concerned parties by holding the annual conference in Dubai – United Arab Emirates, in the presence of the largest listed shareholding companies on the stock exchanges in the GCC and the Middle East Region from all sectors such as banking, oil, telecommunications, real estate and others. Whereby, Mr. Wassim El Hayek, Investor Relations and M&A General Manager at Kuwait Telecommunications Company (stc) received the Awards.
MEIRA is considered the largest event covering the Investor Relations’ best practices in the MENA region in addition to demonstrating the importance of incorporating transparency and corporate governance practices in the Investor Relations functions of listed companies. The event honors and awards each of the leading companies, investor relations professionals, CEOs and CFOs who demonstrate dedication to apply the highest professional standards in investor relations.
On this occasion, stc is proud to highlight the methodology adopted by MEIRA to classify the respective companies, their IR functions, executive management and Investor Relations officers. Whereby, the votes of each of the financial analysts as well as the international portfolio and fund managers were considered in the ranking process. The voting survey included a number of major attributes, which contribute in enhancing the trust between the investors and companies’ executive management, in order to rank the executives of each company. Those attributes included, but are not limited to, leadership, credibility and communication, in addition to other well-known leadership traits. Meanwhile, classification of the IR functions was based on several areas, the most important of which are the quality of earnings call, knowledge, responsiveness and credibility in communication in addition to timing to market, consistent and granular financial information.
Engineer Maziad Alharbi, stc’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Being a leader in the telecom industry and one of the pioneers in providing the digital transformation services in the Middle East, stc has been always keen on applying the best practices and professional standards across all company functions in order to support its employees in achieving the optimal level of operational activities. To achieve its 2021 corporate strategy that has been revised to reflect the latest developments in the ICT and Telecommunications market, and which focuses on building strategic partnerships in the industry, stc has not only considered incorporating the industry’s best practices but it also ensured to maintain the highest level of transparency with the current and potential investors in addition to applying the corporate governance principles across all company activities. Being ranked the 1st in Kuwait as a Leading Corporate for Investor Relations and amongst the top 5 companies in the Middle East, demonstrates the great efforts of stc’s Investor Relations team in fulfilling the needs of the investment community in an efficient, transparent and timely manner. Furthermore, positioning stc as one of the leading companies in the Investor Relations’ activities in the MENA region as well as amongst the top targeted companies during the COVID-19 crisis, illustrates the executive management’s and Investor Relations department’s leading role in stc’s IR activities which meets the global best practices in this area.”
Alharbi added, “It is worth mentioning that positioning stc’s Digital Annual Report in the second place amongst the leading corporates of the MENA region reflects the sincerity, dedication and creativity of stc’s skilled employees across all the Company’s sectors, as well as their diligence and hard work in supporting the Investor Relations team to complete their operations and provide the necessary services to the investment community. Accordingly, this has helped stc to maintain transparency and adhere to the corporate governance rules and regulations imposed by local regulators.”
He continued, “These achievements also translate stc’s significant role in implementing the corporate governance framework within the Company and adhering to Kuwait’s regulatory bodies’ rules and regulations in order to ensure a smooth flow of information with stc’s shareholders and investment community.
Throughout the pandemic, which had a strong impact on the communication standards between listed companies and investors around the world, stc proved its ability to overcome the economic challenges and potential risks, while serving the investment community and company shareholders virtually leveraging on the digital platforms and communication channels. stc’s digital transformation corporate strategy played a significant role in stc’s success with this regard, in addition to its focus on providing the necessary ICT and technical solutions to individuals and enterprises. Throughout 2021 and during the period of uncertainty, the IR Department was able to ensure that the investment community was fully informed with the latest developments about the Company’s operational and financial performance in addition to stc’s plans to overcome the challenges resulting from COVID-19 crisis.”
Alharbi concluded, “At stc, we are open to communicate the Company’s market position, competitive advantages, corporate strategy, as well as financial and operational performance to the investment community. As a result, stc’s prudent management was able to maintain effective communication and transparency with the Company’s relevant stakeholders during 2021 and succeeded in earning their trust and support.”
Source: Press Release