DUBAI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Atheeb Telecommunication Co 7040.SE said on Monday that the government's decision to extend its licence by 15 years would reduce the company's annual costs by 9.7 million riyals ($2.6 million).

The Capital Market Authority on Sunday suspended trade in the shares of the kingdom's listed telecommunications operators after the government decided to extend their licences.

In addition, the government said it would provide the firms with "unified licences" allowing them to offer all telecommunications services. It did not give details.

(Reporting By Hadeel Al Sayegh; Writing by Tom Arnold; Editing by Andrew Torchia) ((Tom.Arnold@thomsonreuters.com; +97144536265; Reuters Messaging: tom.arnold.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))