Saudi Telecom gets shareholder approval to raise capital by $8bln

Shareholders of mobile operator Saudi Telecom Co. (stc) approved at the extraordinary general assembly the proposal to increase the company’s capital by SAR 30 billion ($8 billion).

The increase, which will involve the issuance of 3 billion new shares, will raise Saudi Telecom’s capital to SAR50 billion, representing an increase of 150%, according to a disclosure on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on Wednesday.

“The increase will be through capitalising SAR 30 billion from the retained earnings via granting 1.5 share for each share owned by shareholder,” the statement said.

The board of directors had recommended the capital increase through the issuance of bonus shares to support Saudi Telecom’s growth and expansion strategy.

The mobile operator’s net profit for the second quarter of the year was nearly flat at SAR2.83 billion, below analysts’ mean estimate of SAR2.97 billion, according to Refinitiv.