JEDDAH, 8 June 2004 — Saudi Arabia yesterday approved the merger of leading money exchangers in the country to form a new bank with a capital of SR3 billion. The Council of Ministers said half of the new bank’s 60 million shares would be floated for public subscription.
“The Cabinet approved the legal procedures for the merger of money exchangers,” Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said after the weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and attended by Crown Prince Abdullah.
The minister did not say which money exchangers were involved in the merger, but an earlier report carried in Al-Riyadh daily said eight companies including Al-Rajhi for Foreign Exchange, Al-Rajhi Trading Est., Al-Subeie Money Exchange and Al-Muqairen Money Exchange had agreed to merge.
Other founders of the new bank are: Al-Amri Money Exchange, Injaz Money Exchange, Al-Sairafi Money Exchange and Al-Hazza Money Exchange. The move comes after the government licensed three major international banks — Deutsche Bank of Germany, BNP Paribas Bank of France and JP Morgan Chase Bank of the United States — to open branches in the Kingdom.
“The new joint stock banking company will have 60 million shares, each with a value of SR50, half of which will be floated for public subscription within 30 days after the publication of a royal decree licensing the company,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Al-Farsy as saying.
Half the company’s shares will be distributed among the owners of the merged money exchangers. “The activities of the merged money exchangers will be stopped, they will be stripped of their commercial registrations and their outlets will be closed soon after the announcement of the new company,” the Cabinet said.
It said the new company would pay damages for the cancellation of contracts with the merged firms and settle all entitlements of staff in accordance with the Labor Law.
Crackdown on Terrorists
Earlier, addressing the Cabinet meeting, King Fahd said the Kingdom’s security forces would continue their efforts to crack down on the remaining elements of “the deviant group”, a reference to Al-Qaeda sympathizers.
“This aggressive group, through its subversive activities, serves only the interests of the enemies of the Islamic nation,” the king said and urged Saudis to help expose the group’s plans. He also warned against harboring or aiding terrorists.
Welcomes New Iraqi Govt
The Cabinet meeting welcomed the new Iraqi interim government under the leadership of President Ghazi Al-Yawar and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi with the hope that it will return security and stability to the war-torn country and bring progress and prosperity to Iraqis.
The Kingdom also expressed hope that the new draft resolution on Iraq, currently under debate at the UN Security Council, would take into account positive developments in the country, and give the UN a “pivotal role” in the interim period.
Al-Farsy said the Cabinet denounced Israeli aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories and called for firm international action to stop “this inhuman assault and despotism and flagrant defiance of UN resolutions.”
The meeting said the members of the quartet behind the road map and the Arab peace panel must work together to establish peace in the Middle East. The Kingdom also welcomed the accord between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement as “an important step” toward establishing peace in the country.
