Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has surpassed its counterparts in the region to become the most valuable brand in the Middle East’s telecommunications sector, and the third most valuable brand in all sectors behind Aramco and ADNOC, according to the Brand Finance Global 500 2021 report.
The telecom giant is the region’s fastest-growing brand, its brand value up an impressive 14 percent to $9.2 billion and simultaneously jumping 51 positions to 189th, making STC the second fastest-growing brand among the 20 largest global telecommunications companies, and earning the company an AAA-brand ranking.
Brand Finance noted STC Group CEO Nasser Sulaiman Al-Nasser’s contribution to strengthening the company’s brand in the telecommunications sector. His efforts in supporting the company’s progress in 5G technologies to become a pioneer of digital transformation in the Kingdom and the region, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030, were specifically highlighted.
David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, said: “STC’s brand has evolved and grown following its successful masterbrand refresh and extension into Kuwait and Bahrain at the beginning of last year. The company continues to execute its DARE strategy successfully and has strengthened its positioning as a company that enables digital life. Its commitment to digital transformation has been shown with STC Pay, recognized as the first tech unicorn in Saudi Arabia.”
Bloomberg’s data showed that STC Saudi is the largest Gulf telecommunications company in terms of market value, estimated at $59.5 billion. Meanwhile, STC Kuwait ranked 10th in market value, estimated at $1.4 billion.
Brand Finance analyzed around 5,000 of the biggest brands around the world. Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
Globally, the most valuable brand in the world was deemed to be Apple, overtaking Amazon and Google to reclaim the title for the first time since 2016.
