Saudi Telecom to continue investing in the Kingdom
Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC) Group, the parent company of Viva Bahrain, will continue to invest in the Kingdom, according to its CEO Dr. Khaled H. Biyari. He was addressing the media on a recent visit to celebrate the success and achievements of VIVA as one of the fastest growing telecommunications companies in the Middle East.
He said, “I am very impressed by the vision set forth for the Kingdom by its leadership and STC group commits to investing in Bahrain.”
Viva Bahrain entered Bahrain in 2010 after a winning the licence to operate the third mobile telephone network, with an investment of US$340 million. At that time, the company had declared that it “will invest what it takes to build the best network possible for Bahrain.” Five years since then, the Viva has made big strides with a substantial market share, a commendable achievement for a group, which entered a mature-market, according to experts.
Viva Bahrain had received much recognition over the years, including awards for Customer Strategy, talent development, and operational excellence. It had also entered into alliances with BT to build a global IP Exchange interoperability hub in Bahrain, counted among a few in the world.
Reflecting on the success ingredients of Viva Bahrain, Biyari noted that the regulatory framework in the Kingdom is very good and encourages investment. Business means competition, but equally important is the ability to attract investments. Instead of encouraging competition for its own sake, Bahrain provides a balance, which encourages investment, he added.
He praised the leadership of Viva Bahrain under its CEO Ulaiyan Al Wetaid. “The right talent pool coupled with the leadership and the support of board members made the success possible.”
Viva Bahrain was also helped with the backing of a strong parent company, he added.
On being asked about Viva’s success factor when compared with its competitors, Biyari said “we were able to exploit the environment in a good way... we operate in other markets and we know the difficulties. We don’t have that situation here.”
Photo Caption: Ulaiyan Al Wetaid, VIVA Bahrain CEO, Dr. Khaled H. Biyari, STC Group CEO and Abdulla Al Zmame, Chairman Board of Directors, VIVA Bahrain
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