UAE telcos Etisalat, du raise foreign ownership to 49%

1 / 2
Etisalat and du have raised the ownership limit of foreign nationals to 49 percent. (AFP)
2 / 2
Illustration photo courtesy of Etisalat.com
Short Url
Updated 22 January 2021
Follow

UAE telcos Etisalat, du raise foreign ownership to 49%

DUBAI: Emirati telecom operators Etisalat and du have raised the ownership limit of foreign nationals to 49 percent.

The announcement followed two simultaneous regulatory filings with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market, where the companies’ shares are traded.

Etisalat announced that its board of directors had agreed to increase the foreign ownership of the company’s shares from 20 percent to 49 percent.

However, Etisalat indicated that a higher cap on foreign ownership would require amending some provisions of the federal law concerning the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, as well as the company’s articles of association.

This requires the approval of Etisalat Group’s general assembly and the relevant authorities.

In a similar move, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company — also known as du — announced that non-UAE nationals, whether individual or legal entities, are entitled to own up to 49 percent of the company’s shares.

However, local and international telecommunication companies are not permitted to own shares in the company.


Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 11,228 

Updated 15 February 2026
Follow

Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 11,228 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, lost 23.17 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 11,228.64. 

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.99 billion ($797 million), as 170 of the stocks advanced and 82 retreated.    

On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 449.38 points, or 1.90 percent, to close at 24,093.12. This comes as 43 of the stocks advanced while 27 retreated.    

The MSCI Tadawul Index lost 6.07 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,511.36.     

The best-performing stock of the day was Obeikan Glass Co., whose share price surged 7.54 percent to SR27.66.  

Other top performers included Alamar Foods Co., whose share price rose 6.80 percent to SR47.10, as well as Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co., whose share price climbed 6.79 percent to SR5.66.   

Saudi Investment Bank recorded the steepest drop, falling 3.21 percent to SR13.56. 

Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology also saw its share price fall 3.15 percent to SR13.55. 

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. declined 2.78 percent to SR7.34. 

On the announcements front, Tanmiah Food Co. reported its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. According to a Tadawul statement, the company recorded a net loss of SR18.8 million, compared with a net profit of SR95.8 million a year earlier. 

The net loss was mainly due to ongoing market challenges that resulted in continued pricing pressures in fresh poultry, inflationary cost pressures, higher financing expenses, and depreciation and ramp-up costs from new facilities, partially offset by increased production volumes and cost-optimization initiatives.  

Tanmiah Food Co. ended the session at SR58.20, up 3.72 percent. 

United International Holding Co., also known as Tas’heel, announced its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. A bourse filing showed the company recorded a net profit of SR273.64 million in 2025, up 23.05 percent from 2024, primarily driven by a 23.4 percent rise in revenues. The revenue growth helped lift gross profit by 23.7 percent. 

Tas’heel ended the session at SR146.80, down 0.28 percent.