Atheeb unveils restructuring plan to boost growth

Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co. on Tuesday unveiled a new restructuring plan to boost growth and fulfill regulatory requirements, the company said in a statement to Tadawul.

Under the new turnaround program, the telecom operator will cut its capital by 60 percent to SAR 630 million from about SAR 1.57 billion.

The capital reduction was endorsed by the Saudi market regulator, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), but is still subject to approval of the extraordinary general assembly.

Meanwhile, Atheeb added that it submitted an application to Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) to get the unified telecom license and provide mobile phone, land line and internet services.

The telecom operator is also planning to hike its capital, after obtaining the license, to build a new telecommunications network, which will enable it to compete with local peers.

The strategy will also focus on boosting income, and reducing losses from the commercial agreements signed with various entities, the statement added.

The CMA has ordered companies whose accumulated losses stand at a minimum of 50 percent of capital to unveil a turnaround plan.