Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), Saudi Arabia's most dynamic mobile services provider, on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Huawei, the world's leading telecom solution provider and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) - the world's largest bank in terms of market capitalization - to explore vendor financing opportunities. The agreement was signed in Geneva by Mobily's Chairman Abdul Aziz Al-Sghayi, Huawei's Vice President Ding Shaohua and Ma Xiangjin, Vice President of Dubai branch of ICBC. Mobily's CEO Khalid Al Kaf and a number of senior executives from both Huawei and ICBC also attended the signing ceremony. According to the agreement, the three parties will work together to explore viable financing options to support ongoing projects with Huawei. The deal highlights Huawei's confidence in Mobily as a prime customer of the global infrastructure vendors. Such financing arrangement will further boost Mobily's thrust to develop its infrastructure and introduce innovative services and products to its subscribers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also could promote the sales and increase the market share of Huawei in Middle East region and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular. Al Kaf said that the agreement will be a gateway towards further cooperation in Mobily's projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also praised the contribution of Huawei in the Asian and global business arena. To date, Mobily has signed various contracts for more than SR 2 billion. Mobily had granted Huawei as a “infrastructure giant” for the contracts to run operational services for its 2G and 3G networks, network expansion, and various broadband and enhancement projects. Mobily aims to stay abreast with the latest developments in mobile services, making its network always fully prepared to accommodate the latest technologies in order to maximize its users' experience.
