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Saudi Telecom Co, or STC, ranking among worlds top 20 telecom operators, and Aegis, a global outsourcing services company, have set up a USD 2 billion Saudi-based joint venture, initially named, Contact Centre Company, or CCC, through which Aegis would manage STCs entire customer care operations and also scout for regional opportunities. The JV would start operations on March 1 initially with 550 agents transferred from STC to CCC in Jeddah and Riyadh, providing directory assistance, and a potential of scaling up to 5,000 agents over the next 18-24 months. The number of agents is expected to increase to 10,000 in roughly three years. On full stream; CCC will be amongst the largest contact centres in the region.
The announcement of the CCC, the company that is seen to transform customer care in the region, was made on Tuesday by Dr. Fahad H. Mashayt, STCs Strategic Investments Unit Head, and Aparup Sengupta, Aegiss MD and Global CEO, at a local hotel.
This is a landmark and historic deal in the industry, Aparup said.
The CCC will help change the structure of Saudi economy from oil-based to service-based, Dr Fahad said.
In CCC, both the partners would have near equal stakes with STC, a USD14 billion company, holding 50 percent plus one share, and Aegis the rest. Aegis would have operational control and responsibilities. The CCC would enjoy an exclusivity contract with STC.
Through CCC, Aegis, part of the USD15 billion Essar Group, would manage STCs entire customer care operations including billing, directory enquiry, collection, verification etc., to its over 28 million customers in Saudi Arabia. The operations would be later extended to Kuwait and Bahrain.
Fahad and Aparup told Khaleej Times that the CCC would have 90 per cent Saudi and 10 per cent non-Saudi employees, who would serve STC customers speaking different languages. Mostly, the staff would be transferred from STC to the new company and new staff hired.
Aparup said that USD2 billion is the value of the eight year extendable contract between Aegis and STC to serve STC customers through CCC. The CCC is expected to make an annual revenue of USD200 to USD250 million.
STC has been pioneer in the telecom landscape of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and now has broadened its horizon to focus in other growth markets like the GCC, Africa, and India, said Saud Al Daweesh, Group CEO, STC, in a statement released on Tuesday.
Time has now come for us to increase our focus on our core operations, which is providing next generation telecommunication service to our customers, said Saud.
This deal would help STC variablise their fixed cost and free up their management bandwidth to focus on emerging opportunities. This would also provide a huge leg up to Aegis West ?Asia presence, since the joint venture would actively seek new businesses, Aparup said.
Aegis, a leader in total customer lifecycle management, serves over 150 clients through a network of 47 delivery centres spread across 11 countries with its 50,000 employees.
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