Monday 18 August 2008
RIYADH: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the largest private investor on the Saudi stock exchange, with SR53.47 billion ($14.3 billion) worth of direct and indirect shareholdings, exchange data showed.
Alwaleed runs Kingdom Holding Co., Citigroup Inc.’s largest shareholder.
The largest Arab bourse began naming investors holding stakes of 5 percent or more on Saturday to boost transparency and encourage confidence in the Gulf region’s worst-performing benchmark this year.
About 90 percent of Alwaleed’s holdings in Saudi shares are in Kingdom, in which he owns 94 percent of the conglomerate’s 6.3 billion shares, the stock exchange said on its website.
Kingdom, meanwhile, holds 5 percent of Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest listed bank, and 10.1 percent of Savola Group, the data showed.
The conglomerate also owns 6.2 percent in Saudi industrial group Tasnee.
Saudi market operator Tadawul said last month it was implementing the new disclosure rule to improve transparency. The Saudi market is dominated by day traders and restricts foreign access to shares.
The new disclosure rule could help the regulator dispel rumors that big retail traders are behind rapid fluctuations in share prices, a common assumption in the market, analysts have said.
Alwaleed’s holdings in Saudi stocks surpass those held by members of the Al-Rajhi family, who control Al-Rajhi Bank, the biggest Gulf Arab market value, and the Olayan family who have indirect stakes in Saudi Hollandi Bank and SABB bank.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund is the biggest investor, holding SR380 billion of shares in 18 firms, the data showed.
