Saudi phone giant to buy 10% of Careem ride app

[Dawood Ibrahim]

• Arts & Entertainment

17 MINS AGO BY AGENCIES

Saudi Arabia’s largest telecommunications firm STC plans to buy a 10 percent stake in car booking firm Careem, the company said on Sunday.

Careem is a competitor of US-based Uber, a smartphone app that connects passengers and drivers. In a notice to the Saudi stock exchange, Saudi Telecom Co said the proposed stake is worth $100 million, to be funded by STC’s “internal financial resources.”

The investment is the latest high-profile Saudi venture since Riyadh in April announced its Vision 2030 plan to diversify the oil-dependent economy and broaden its investment base.

“This move is in line with the company strategy to invest in the innovative digital world,” STC said, adding it would “enhance communication via mobile within the transport system.” Uber announced in June that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would inject $3.5 billion to help the app’s global expansion.

Its rival Careem, was founded in 2012 and has operations in 47 cities across the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan, STC said. STC is the largest Arab telecommunications firm in terms of capitalisation. It has more than 100 million customers in nine countries including Turkey, South Africa, India and Malaysia.

Car booking apps are popular in Saudi Arabia, particularly among women who are banned from driving in the kingdom.


http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/blog/2016/12/18/saudi-phone-giant-to-buy-10-of-careem-ride-app/

 

[Safeer Abbas Baloch]

hmm

 

[Haris Mansoor]

Good to know, Muslims investing in technology....

 

[SherDil]

Saudi Arabia’s largest telecommunications firm, Saudi Telecom Co (STC) plans to buy a 10% stake in the famous Middle-East based ride hailing app called Careem Networks FZ. The four-year-old company, Careem, was given a valuation of about $1 billion, which means that STC is going to be investing $100 million (10%) in it.



The approval of a 10% purchase of stake in Careem was approved by the board of STC on December 15th, but the news was revealed just yesterday through a statement from the Saudi Stock Exchange. They say that STC will be funding the deal from internal sources.

STC is already an investor in Careem through its venture capital arm, SRC Ventures, says Careem’s website.

STC said:

“This move is in line with the company’s strategy to invest in the innovative digital world and enhance communication via mobile phones within the transport system.”

How Careem Raised Funds
Careem has been working with Credit Suisse Group AG, and managed to raise an amount of $500 million. Furthermore, Careem raised $60 million last year from the investors including buyout firm Abraaj Group to expand in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Careem received its funding earlier than that from Dubai-based Wamda Capital and Saudi Arabia’s Al Tayyar Travel Group.

According to the STC, Careem now has operations in 47 different cities in the present across the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.

While Careem’s US-based rival, Uber, another ride hailing app meant to connect passengers and drivers, received an investment of $3.5 billion in June from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which also holds a 70% stake in STC.