NEW DELHI, 17 March 2005 — Billionaire Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal made a brief visit to India yesterday to explore investment opportunities.
Prince Alwaleed said the purpose of his one-day visit was to study investment opportunities in India which he regarded as “ a very important country in terms of economy, trade and investment.”
According to sources he was here to invest in hospitality services. He visited the capital city’s major hotels to “understand the Indian needs.”
Prince Alwaleed, famous as the richest man in Islamic world, is the fifth richest in the world with a personal net worth of $ 23.7 billion.
Describing Saudi-Indian relations as “solid,” the prince expressed hope that the ties would be activated at all levels. Noting that his investments here are largely indirect, through a number of American companies, the prince discussed a number of investment opportunities with Indian leaders. These issues reportedly came during his meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.
He visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Tuesday morning and met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in the afternoon before heading to Colombo. Though this was his first visit to India, he has funded a number of charity and humanitarian projects here.
