stc’s TAWAL fully acquires AWAL Telecom in Pakistan

Logo of TAWAL

TAWAL, a subsidiary of stc and Saudi Arabia’s first telecommunications towers company, acquired 100% of AWAL Telecom.

This acquisition was approved in principle by TAWAL to fully acquire Pakistan’s tower company AWAL Telecom from its shareholders, stc said in a statement. The acquisition will see TAWAL bring significant capital investment, develop its operations and enhance expertise in the Pakistani market.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval from the Pakistani authorities, will see AWAL rebranded as TAWAL Pakistan and form the launchpad of TAWAL’s operations in the country. AWAL, a fully licensed operation by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, currently builds and operates in the country’s northwest region primarily.

Olayan Alwetaid, chief executive officer (CEO) of stc Group said: “We are very pleased of TAWAL’s entry into Pakistan market as one of stc Group subsidiaries. TAWAL is looking forward to fruitful partnerships with the country’s mobile network operators and meeting the demand for robust telecommunications infrastructure there.”

“We believe that TAWAL is in a strong position to extend its footprint outside Saudi Arabia and are exploring opportunities in key markets regionally and globally,” Alwetaid added.

Mohammed Alhakbani, chief executive officer (CEO), TAWAL said Pakistan is an exciting market with high growth potential.

“The country is witnessing growing mobile service penetration, which is creating infrastructural demand that TAWAL is ideally placed to address. We are excited about adding the AWAL team to our international operations under the TAWAL umbrella and laying the groundwork for further global expansion,” Alhakbani added.

Pakistan has four major mobile network operators servicing 238 million people. The country currently has over 189 million cellular subscribers and 108 million-plus 3G/4G subscribers, with mobile voice and mobile broadband subscriptions having seen double-digit growth in recent years.

According to TAWAL, the expansion of 4G LTE and 5G mobile networks is expected to drive market and revenue growth, along with the wider availability of value-added services. Yet there are currently fewer than 40,000 tower sites in the country, implying significant build potential over the next several years.

TAWAL owns a portfolio of over 15,500 towers across the Kingdom. It operates in the Kingdom and is licensed to provide wholesale services for infrastructure that is issued by the Communications and Information Technology Commission in 2019.