JEDDAH, 27 April 2004 — More than 350 Saudi businessmen and businesswomen are taking part in the first forum of family businesses, which was opened at Jeddah Inter.Continental yesterday. The three-day event will discuss the challenges facing family businesses in the Kingdom. Experts will present some 20 papers on various topics including better management of family businesses and prospects of merging them with one another. The meeting is significant as major business families in the country run about 70 percent of companies, a press statement said.