RIYADH, 11 June 2007 — Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), Saudi Arabia’s No. 1 company and one of the world’s most successful and diversified international investment groups, announced yesterday that its total consolidated assets have risen to approximately $24.65 billion (SR92.44 billion).
Following the audit of its 2006 accounts, KHC said its portfolio has exceeded many international market indices and has delivered consistent outstanding high returns. The average return on investments over the last 16 years is 20 percent — a staggering figure for long-term investment and one which has outperformed the MSCI and the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) global indices by more than 10 percent over the same period.
KHC Chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said: “Seeing KHC grow to what it has become has been wonderfully exciting and rewarding, but all that is history. KHC is always looking to the future, looking to extend its horizons wider and further than ever before, produce even greater success, push our frontiers and deliver a business model that outperforms commercial and philanthropic levels.
With the continued support of our excellent team, who share my passion for our future, we are looking forward to the next quarter century of success and continued leadership. As I have said before — If I’m going to do something, I do it spectacularly or I don’t do it at all.”
KHC was founded in 1980, initially focused on construction activities, housing development and educational projects. Today, KHC is one of the world’s most successful and diversified business organizations, highly respected in the field of investment and recognized as an elite player in the Arabian Gulf region and internationally.
KHC’s portfolio is predominantly focused on three key growth value-added sectors — banking & financial services, real estate and hotels and hotel management, though it also has interests in media, technology and telecommunications, retail, tourism, consumer and healthcare and industrial sectors. The portfolio contains many famous brands including Citigroup, Samba, Savola, National Industrialization Company (NIC), Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG), Fairmont Raffles Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels, MovenPick Hotels & Resorts, News Corporation, Time Warner, Songbird Estates (Canary Wharf, London), Apple, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Walt Disney Co. and Eastman Kodak. KHC is also active in the area of private equity in Saudi Arabia and developing markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
KHC’s investment success has been driven largely by its bold, concentrated, perceptive investments in high-quality businesses with undervalued assets and a belief that long-term view is appropriate for most investments. KHC’s dramatic growth and turnaround is a validation of its careful evaluation methods and investment decision-making process. It is also a reflection of the depth and expertise of its management team that operates under world-class corporate governance standards.
Moreover, KHC has domestic investments in health, education and social services in order to give something back to Saudi Arabia.
Alwaleed and Kingdom Foundation, the prince’s philanthropic and humanitarian aid foundation, are one of the region’s most generous supporters of health, humanitarian and educational causes, building schools, hospitals, development projects, mosques, housing for the poor and other humanitarian projects throughout Kingdom and the rest of the Arab world.