Mobile market buoyant.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

The Saudi mobile market racked up strong subscriber growth last year as the Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) steeled themselves for the entry of a new competitor, investment bank EFG-Hermes said in a note yesterday.

Saudi Arabia had 27 million subscribers at the end of last year - ten per cent more than EFG-Hermes had forecast, implying a market penetration level of 109 per cent. "We now expect total subscribers to reach 33.4 million in 2008, implying a penetration rate of 131 per cent, up from 113 per cent in our previous forecast," the bank said.

STC's market share fell to 64 per cent, as Mobily made ground. Newcomer Zain Saudi, which starts operations next month, was expected to have 1.3 million subscribers by the end of the year.

[R]A 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

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