Page 25 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2022

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

MEMBERS NEWS

stc Group Announces the Board Recommendation

to Distribute 150% Stock Dividend to Its
Shareholders

“The capital increase represents an maximize the utilization of the huge
important milestone for stc being infrastructure owned by the company
one of the biggest listed companies in the region, including the data centers
in the Saudi market, as this capital and international submarine cables.
increase is the largest in the history The investment will also help to take
of the Saudi market. This increase will advantage of the Kingdom’s strategic
undoubtedly lead to enhancing the geographical location connecting the
liquidity in the company’s shares and three continents digitally. In line with
make them more accessible to wider the Kingdom’s efforts to promote
group of investors. stc is marching economic diversification through
with tangible and clear steps towards acceleration of investment cycle to
achieving its strategy and vision of stimulate investment opportunities in
becoming the leading company in the the cloud computing and data hosting
field of digital and communications sector in the region, stc recently along
domain to enable the society and the with other partners announced the
economy to prosper in the Kingdom establishment of a company with
of Saudi Arabia and beyond. The a total capital of SAR 894 million,
company's "dare" strategy is based specialized in cloud computing in
on four main pillars: expanding the Kingdom with Alibaba Cloud,
in scale and scope, enriching the the leading provider of digital
stc’s board of directors announced its customer experience, enabling digital technology and artificial intelligence
recommendation to the general assembly to transformation, and accelerating its services. This partnership aims to
increase the company’s capital by 150% through assets monetization. Since the launch fulfill the growing demand for cloud
granting bonus shares, by capitalizing SAR 30 of its strategy, stc group has worked computing services and solutions
billion from retained earnings, bringing stc’s capital on many initiatives and projects that in the region by taking advantage of
from SAR 20 billion (2 billion shares) to 50 billion had a robust impact on increasing stc's distinguished advantage in the
riyals Saudi (5 billion shares), where (1.5) shares will and diversifying the group's revenues region through its differentiated state
be granted for every (1) share held by shareholders through expansion of its core business of the art infrastructure, services and
at the time of maturity. The aim for stc to increase in the Kingdom and the region, in technology solutions. Such initiatives
its capital by granting bonus shares is to support addition to the investment made in confirm stc’s strategy to establish
the company in achieving its strategy of expansion new promising industries. These partnerships with major global leading
and growth, and maximizing the total return for initiatives and projects have positively companies in the field of information
shareholders, by increasing and diversifying contributed towards sustainable and technology. Also in a very promising
investments and seizing the expected growth profitable growth of the company. emerging industry, stc announced
opportunities in the telecommunications and The capital increase supports the this year the forming of a joint venture
information technology sectors in the Kingdom and implementation of stc's ambitious (JV) with the Public Investment Fund
the region. The capital increase is in line with the growth strategy through a series of to equally establish a new company
company’s vision to become the leading company innovative initiatives and projects, with a total capital of SAR 492 million,
in the field of communications and information as the group began this year by specialized in the field of Internet of
technology and to lead the digital transformation launching multiple investments and Things (IoT) technologies. The aim
locally and regionally by providing innovative digital partnerships in new and promising of this JV is to promote and support
services, products and solutions. Furthermore, the sectors. stc announced during the the adoption of IoT technologies and
increase is also consistent with the Kingdom’s Leap Technology Conference this contribute towards empowering the
vision 2030 to spur the private sector contribution year that it is launching an initiative to Internet of Things in the Kingdom
in the gross domestic product (GDP) through the establish a major digital center “MENA and MENA region where the company
diversification of the Saudi economy. The Chairman Hub” for the Middle East and North will provide qualitative technical
of the Board of Directors, His Royal Highness Prince Africa with an investment of more solutions that will enable the growth
Mohammad bin Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal stated, than one billion US dollars in order to of important sectors (including

25 MAY-JUNE 2022