RIYADH, 29 November 2006 - Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, is the largest company in Saudi Arabia for 2006, with revenues of SR82 billion with only 46 employees. The ranking is based on the annual list of "Saudi Arabia's 100 Top Saudi Companies" compiled by Arab News and published on Nov. 27. The newspaper is published by the Saudi Research & Marketing Group.
"We thank God Almighty for this accomplishment that Kingdom Holding Company has sustained, and we dedicate it to Saudi Arabia," Prince Alwaleed said.
KHC has maintained a leading national rank for a number of years. It ranked second in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002, and first in 2000, and returned to first place from 2003 to 2006.
Prince Alwaleed holds substantial investment stakes in some of Saudi Arabia's and the world's better-known companies through entities controlled by him and his family.
KHC was founded by the prince in Riyadh in 1979 in a small pre-fabricated office. Today, KHC is one of the world's most successful and most diversified business organizations with interests in famous companies across the world, a portfolio which continues to grow by the day.
KHC started in the construction business building highways, housing developments and educational projects. Today, its domestic and international portfolio includes investments in everything from world-famous luxury hotels to banking, media and information technology, entertainment and tourism.
KHC's spectacular investment success has been driven in large part by Prince Alwaleed's perceptive investments in companies known for excellent leadership in their fields. The dramatic growth and turnaround shown by these companies is both a validation of Prince Alwaleed's careful evaluation of their business potential and a reflection of KHC's willingness to recognize the talents of others.
As chairman of KHC, Prince Alwaleed leads a multidisciplinary team of no more than five senior management who include Talal Al-Maiman, P.J. Shoucair, Ahmed Halawani, Michael Jensen and Saleh Al-Ghoul. Together, they operate 24 hours a day overseeing KHC's growing global portfolio with a success rate which has become legendary. Indeed, on their way to building the biggest and certainly most diverse business group outside the United States, the KHC team has handsomely beaten the index with bold concentrated bets, an uncanny eye for future potential, and a track record which has earned Prince Alwaleed the name "The Midas Prince."
