Banking & Finance Zain KSA profit at $347m as revenue reaches record high By Pramod Kumar March 4, 2024, 4:13 AM Polonio Video/Shutterstock The board of Saudi telecoms company Zain KSA has recommended a dividend payout of SAR449 million for 2023 Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) more than doubled its profit in 2023 to SAR1.3 billion ($347 million). Revenues reached a record high of nearly SAR10 billion, rising 9 percent yearly, fuelled by growth in business-to-business, 5G, digital products, wholesale and fintech unit Tamam. Ooredoo’s 2023 profit reaches all-time high of $824m Gulf telcos sign deal to create $2bn tower company Kuwait’s Zain ups stake in UAE’s telco tower company Gross profit increased 10 percent year on year to SAR541 million due to growth in the high-margin segments. Ebitda declined to SAR3 billion due to the increase in operating expenses, which reached SAR951 million. Finance costs increased by SAR153 million due to rise in interest rates. Zain KSA paid all its financial debt obligations worth SAR2 billion last year. The telco’s board of directors also recommended a dividend payout of SAR449 million for 2023, subject to shareholders’ approval.
Real Estate ‘Safe’ Sharjah attracts Kuwaiti investors to $950m project The emirate of Sharjah has been praised as “safe and business-friendly” by a Kuwaiti developer who has formed a partnership to develop a AED3.5 billion ($950 million) housing project in its burgeoning local property market. Talal Al-Bahar, vice-chairman and CEO of Kuwait Real Estate Company (Aqarat), said that investors were attracted to Sharjah because of […] 11 hours ago
Aviation Riyadh Air delays launch after Boeing setbacks Riyadh Air has been forced to push back its launch date to the third quarter of 2025 after delays to deliveries from Boeing. The new Saudi airline had been scheduled to begin flying early this year. It is a blow to Saudi Arabia’s tourism ambitions to attract 150 million visits a year. Riyadh Air was founded […] 12 hours ago
Tech KKR signs a $5bn Gulf data centre deal in Dubai KKR, the American investment giant, and the data centre platform Gulf Data Hub (GDH), based in Dubai, have signed a strategic partnership to invest $5 billion in data centres serving the Gulf. A joint press release on Friday said that funds “affiliated with KKR” will also acquire a stake in GDH, although it did not […] 13 hours ago
Real Estate Eagle Hills plans Trump hotel project with Kushner The Abu Dhabi-based developer Eagle Hills and Affinity Partners, an investment firm founded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have agreed to build a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. The project, on the site of the former Yugoslav defence ministry, will feature a 175-room Trump hotel as its centrepiece, and 1,500 […] 13 hours ago
