News

New Merger Creates Middle East’s Biggest Telecom Company

Saudi Arabia’s PIF and stc Group have combined resources, in a move that will significantly boost network coverage and customer experience.

Published

2 years ago

April 22, 2024

Nour Nasir

new merger creates middle east's biggest telecom company

Saudi Arabian wealth fund PIF has agreed to purchase a 51% stake in Tawal, the country’s biggest telecommunications infrastructure company, with an enterprise value of $5.85 billion. The stake was formerly owned by the Saudi Telecommunications Company (stc Group).

PIF and stc Group will now merge Tawal and Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLIC) into a new entity, forming the “largest regional company in the telecommunication infrastructure sector” with over 30,000 mobile tower sites and annual revenues surpassing $1.3 billion.

The new company will be owned 54% by PIF and 43.1% by stc Group, with GLIC minority shareholders owning the rest of the issued share capital.

Raid Ismail, Head of MENA Direct Investments at PIF said: “Today’s announcement is a significant milestone for the telecommunications industry in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. By bringing together the assets of GLIC and TAWAL, we will establish a consolidated platform on which the telecommunications sector can flourish and give people a better experience to best connect communities and businesses. It is also in line with PIF’s strategy and the Saudi Vision 2030”.

Also Read: Microsoft Invests $1.5 Billion In Abu Dhabi AI Tech Firm G42

Combining Tawal and GLIC is seen as a positive stepping-stone to consolidating Saudi Arabia’s tower market and increasing operating efficiencies and excellence to deliver a better experience for customers.

Once operational, network coverage should see a welcome boost, while general connectivity and internet speeds will also be improved.

The merger follows Tawal’s purchase of infrastructure in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia, making this “Saudi national champion” the region’s biggest independent tower company.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.