JEDDAH: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has donated shares worth SR2.24 billion ($597.3 million), part of his private stakes in Citigroup, to Kingdom Holding, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. It said the transfer was made free of charge.
Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by Prince Alwaleed, said it received a donation from the prince in the form of 180 million shares in Citigroup. “The value is SR2.24 billion as of end-2009,” the company said.
Kingdom Holding also announced Tuesday that it would call an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to approve the reduction of the company’s capital from SR63 billion to SR37.5 billion (a share for every 1.7 share).
“The initiative made by Prince Alwaleed and the decision made by KHC will lead the company to profitability and enable it to distribute dividends to the shareholders once approved by KHC’s board of directors,” the statement said. This move will allow Kingdom Holding to improve its position and increase future borrowing capacity, it added.
“I personally reaffirm my full and continuous support to Kingdom Holding Company and my initiative to transfer part of my own Citigroup shares is an example of that. We are also confident that these measures will ensure the continuous development of KHC and help it withstand the negative repercussions of the global economic crisis,” Prince Alwaleed said. Kingdom Holding will continue its strategic local and international investment plans of the past 30 years, he added.
“The immediate financial benefit to the Kingdom shareholders from the prince’s contribution is SR2.24 billion. Furthermore, the company will realize an additional benefit of SR675 million for every $1 increase in the Citigroup share price,” the KHC statement said.
KHC’s portfolio has its main interests in local and international investments that include landmark hotel properties, hotel management companies, real estate, financial services, technology, media, retail, agriculture, manufacturing and aviation. KHC’s local investments include Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), National Air Services (NAS), Kingdom Hospital, Consulting Clinics, Kingdom City, Kingdom Center, Kingdom Schools, SAKS Fifth Avenue, Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh, SAVOLA and TASNEE (National Industrialization Company).
Tuesday’s company statement reiterated that Kingdom Holding will pursue the development of its two mega-real estate projects — Kingdom City Riyadh and Kingdom City Jeddah.
Kingdom City Riyadh is a unique city within a city, located on the Dammam highway northeast of Riyadh on an area of 16.8 million square meters.
The project will consist of residential, commercial projects, offices and retail facilities. The city will also include a sports club as well as leisure, horse riding and education facilities, besides environmentally-friendly open parks that meet international standards.
Kingdom Tower Jeddah, the world’s tallest tower exceeding 1,000 meters in height, will be the centerpiece of Kingdom City Jeddah, the largest, most comprehensive real estate development to be built on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
The project will include offices, villas, apartments, hotels, malls, marina, recreational areas, connecting bridges, among others. It is expected to become a world-leading tourist, business and residential center and offer the best investment opportunity in the Middle East. The plans for the two colossal projects of Kingdom City in Jeddah and Kingdom Tower in Jeddah were inaugurated at the “Towards the First World” architectural exhibition that was held in Jeddah, under the auspices of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.