Holding reports 68% rise in quarterly profits INVESTMENT
Prince Al Waleed’s investment firm plans fresh Egypt hotel venture
Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding reported a 68 per cent rise in second quarter profits compared with the first three months of the year, amid plans for a US$800 million investment in three Egyptian hotels.
The investment firm, owned by Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, reported a net profit of 216.3 million Saudi riyals (Dh211.8m) for the second quarter of the year, compared with a loss of 80m riyals in the same period last year, and a first-quarter profit of 129m riyals, according to a statement posted on the Saudi stock exchange.
Kingdom said that the increase in profitability came from an “increase in income from and gain on investments in addition to increase in dividends income, increase in other gains and increase in share of results from equity-accounted investees,” which came in spite of a rise in financial charges and general administrative expenses.
The firm’s revenues rose to 540m riyals for the quarter, a 16 per cent increase on a year earlier.
Kingdom holds minority stakes in several of the world’s largest firms, including Citigroup, Twitter, NewsCorp and the Four Seasons hotel group. In June it announced a $62m investment in the Dubai-based ride-sharing company Careem.
The firm did not provide a breakdown of the revenues or profitability for any of its investments.
Egypt’s government yesterday announced that Kingdom and Egyptian investment company Talaat Moustafa Group would invest $800m in three hotel projects in the country, one of the largest planned injections of foreign cash since Egypt embarked upon a major economic reform programme.
The two firms plan to expand the Sharm El Sheikh Four Seasons resort on the Red Sea and build new two hotels, at El Alamein on the north coast of Egypt and at Madinaty in Cairo, the ministry of investment and international cooperation said.
“This is a global investor and he compares between places to decide where to invest,” said the investment minister Sahar Nasr. “He sees that the business environment is now attractive and he is committed to investing in Egypt.”
Egypt has said it hopes to exceed its $10 billion target for foreign direct investment this year, after taking a series of steps meant to restore investor confidence, including easing currency restrictions and cutting subsidies in a successful bid to win a $12 billion IMF loan.
The government regards investments by the world’s 48th-richest man, with a net worth of $18.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as a positive signal about its economy that would draw in more cash.
He sees the business environment is attractive and he is committed to investing in Egypt