Saudi Arabia’s telecom sector profitability will be hurt this year by reforms being undertaken in the kingdom and changes in policies of the telecom regulatory authority, according to a new report from NCB Capital, the investment arm of Saudi lender NCB.
NCB Capital is forecasting a 1.4 per cent drop to 9.3 billion Saudi riyals (Dh9.1bn) in the net income of the sector this year compared with 2017.
“We believe the outlook for the Saudi Telecom sector is muted due the impact of the economic reforms and Communications and Information Technology Commission’s (CITC) new regulations.,” said the report. “However, we expect the potential inclusion to EM indices will continue to drive stock prices going forward.”
Saudi Arabia is undertaking reforms to help shore up government revenue hit by the oil price slump since 2014 and to create new revenue streams other than oil income. It introduced an excise tax last year and 5 per cent VAT this year to help beef up state income, as well as undertaking other measures that are expected to increase the inflation rate and hurt consumer spending.
But index compiler FTSE Russell’s decision last month to upgrade Saudi Arabia to emerging market status is expected to buoy the Tadawul stock exchange and channel foreign investor money into blue-chip stocks. A possible inclusion of Saudi Arabia by rival index complier MSCI in its widely tracked Emerging Market index in June would give a further boost to the Arab world’s biggest stock exchange with a market capitalisation of around $500bn.
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Read more:
FTSE upgrades Saudi Arabia to emerging market status
Saudi stocks will have potential 2.3 per cent weighting on MSCI Emerging Markets Index
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“Saudi Telecom Company, Mobily and Zain are expected to be included in FTSE and MSCI EM indices,” said NCB Capital. “This is expected to drive their stock prices for the next 14 months, until the inclusion happens and implementation is completed. The stock prices are expected to move away from fair value, driven by momentum due to increased inflows during this period.”
NCB is projecting a 2.9 per cent drop in mobile users to 39 million, which will push down the penetration rate to 123 per cent, compared with a 16 per cent year-on-year decline in 2017, where the penetration rate reached 127 per cent.
CITC has also implemented new regulations that are expected to dent the income of telecom operators. For example, the removal of a ban on VoIP will reduce income from international calls, which account for around 7 per cent of sector revenue, NCB Capital said.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
