Telco Zain Saudi sees 15mn subscribers by 2015

DUBAI: Mobile telecoms carrier Zain Saudi aims to have 15 million subscribers by 2015, its chief executive was quoted on Saturday as saying.

In remarks published in Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Saad al-Barak said Zain Saudi, an affiliate of Kuwait's Zain, had 9 million subscribers as of the end of June.

"We reached that number in record time and many companies compete in this field but we will not stop here. Now we aspire to have around 15 million subscribers by around 2015," he said.

The operator's share of the Saudi mobile market fell to 16 percent by the end of 2010 from 18 percent a year earlier, putting it a distant third to rival carriers Saudi Telecom Co and Mobily, an affiliate of UAE's Etisalat.

Zain has agreed to sell its quarter stake in Zain Saudi to joint bidders Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco)

Barak said Zain would meet with Batelco "within days" to open the company's books for examination.

Copyright Reuters, 2011