The company was inaugurated at a glittering event held inside a tent specially set up at Manama's Ritz Carlton Hotel. Viva Bahrain has been set in motion under the patronage of Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman.
"The opening of a Saudi company in Bahrain symbolizes the strong and long standing relations between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia," said STC Chairman Muhammed Al-Jasser in a speech on the occasion.
STC won Bahrain's third mobile network operating license with a bid of 86.7 million dinars ($231 million) in March last year. Bahrain already has two mobile phone companies - state-run Batelco and Kuwaiti-owned Zain.
Saud Al-Daweesh, chief executive officer of the STC Group, said Bahrain is the 10th country in which STC is presently operating, joining Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Kuwait, Turkey, South Africa, Lebanon and Jordan. He added that the company serves over 100 million people across the world.
Al-Daweesh said STC's customer base in the Kingdom has increased to 21 million and that the company will extend operations to new countries. He added that the company was rated for the first time by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Moody's Investor's Services. "The rating initiative gives STC access to the international market for its financing needs and also extends confidence to its stakeholders, including investors and overseas business partners," he said.
"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has assigned STC with 'A+' long-term and 'A-1' short-term foreign currency corporate credit ratings. Moody's Investors Services assigned A1 long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings. STC is the first telecom company in the region to attain this strong rating, and one of the top five rated telecom companies in the world," he added.
"The strategic expansion takes the company's global footprint into Bahrain, enabling yet another country in the region to benefit from STC's advanced communications technologies and high quality products ... It is STC's superior capabilities and expertise that have won the trust of local and international customers, enabling us to grow into the largest telecom company in the region and earning the STC group well-deserved recognition as a giant in the world of telecommunications," said Al-Daweesh.
Ibrahim bin Abdul Rahman Al-Omar, chief executive officer of Viva Bahrain, said, "Viva Bahrain will offer market services of the highest quality at the most competitive prices via easy to use innovative channels that will enable STC customers to benefit from several facilities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain."
Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa welcomed the Kingdom's role in developing Bahrain's communication sector, adding that the company will prove a major source of income for the two brotherly countries.
The crown prince made the comments while meeting Al-Jasser at Riffa Palace in the presence of senior government officials. He also called for more coordination and cooperation between Bahrain and the Kingdom in the telecommunication sector.
Al-Jasser, who is also the governor of SAMA (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency), briefed the crown prince on STC's plans in Bahrain and thanked the Bahraini government for giving maximum cooperation in promoting trade relations between the two countries.