Kamali, chairman of the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute, commented during the ceremony, "We are pleased to present this award to STC. The awards program honors economic leaders or organizations from the GCC countries who took up challenges in setting up businesses, industries and agriculture not just to make a profit, but to make a contribution to the economy and society as a whole. We are proud to bestow STC with this award for the leading role they have played in ensuring GCC's diversified economy becomes our greatest strength in the 21st century." The awards are presented to "GCC economic leaders and businesses for their exceptional vision, drive, persistence and results. The award is designed to recognize individuals and organizations who own, manage and create successful initiatives that have had a significant impact on the development and enhancement of the GCC economy. The panel of judges, made up of analysts and top executives from regional and global organizations unanimously chose STC to receive this prestigious award. STC is the GCC's and KSA's second largest company, with over 22,000 employees, according to research carried out by Shuaa Capital and with over 88% of its employees are Saudi nationals. The company recently won an award presented by Prince Naif for the achievements it had made of recruiting approximately 7,500 people in the past six years. "Year 2006 will see a new era in communication technology when STC will introduce its 3G service. STC has over 12 million customers," a spokesman from the STC said.
