Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal controls Kingdom Holding. AFP
Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal controls Kingdom Holding. AFP
Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal controls Kingdom Holding. AFP
Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal controls Kingdom Holding. AFP

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding has invested $3.4bn in past two years


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

Kingdom Holding, the investment company controlled by Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, invested 12.8 billion Saudi riyals ($3.4bn) between the second quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of this year across various sectors.

The company, which has stakes in Citigroup, JD.com, Accor, Uber, Careem, Lyft and Twitter, invested in sectors that include integrated communication, alternative financing, mobility services, energy, digital media and entertainment, Kingdom Holding said in a statement to the Tadawul stock exchange, where its shares are traded.

It also invested in e-commerce, insurance and asset management, as well as commodities and funds sectors.

The latest investments “will complement the ones already part” of the company’s portfolio, including banking, real estate, health care, education, petrochemicals, hotel management, hotel real estate, social media, mining and commercial aviation, the company said on Thursday.

In Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh-based company owns Kingdom Hospitals and Kingdom Schools, Saudi petrochemicals company Tasnee, budget airline flynas and private aviation company NasJet.

Last month, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, bought a 16.87 per cent stake in Kingdom Holding for $1.5bn.

The company's first-quarter net profit after zakat and tax rose to 5.9bn riyals, compared with 91 million riyals in the same period last year.

The company sold half of its stake in global hospitality company Four Seasons to FS Washington Acquisition Corporation this year for 8.29bn riyals.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UNpaid bills:

Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN budget in 2019

USA – $1.055 billion

Brazil – $143 million

Argentina – $52 million

Mexico – $36 million

Iran – $27 million

Israel – $18 million

Venezuela – $17 million

Korea – $10 million

Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN peacekeeping operations in 2019

USA – $2.38 billion

Brazil – $287 million

Spain – $110 million

France – $103 million

Ukraine – $100 million

 

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

While you're here
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Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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Group A

Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA

Group B

Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti

Group C

Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia

Group D

Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria

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v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)

Four Corners

v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)

v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)

v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)

v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)

One Free-Kick

v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Updated: June 23, 2022, 12:25 PM`