Saudi group seeks to ring-fence assets

Algosaibi & Brothers defaulted on loans worth billions of dollars

Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Co will seek to prevent Arab National Bank and another lender from claiming assets of the Saudi Arabian company to settle outstanding loans, according to its acting chief executive officer.

Royal decree

Algosaibi will oppose the move because the assets are meant to be frozen by a royal decree to ensure all creditors are treated fairly, Simon Charlton said, without naming the second bank.

The dispute over the portfolio of publicly-traded Saudi equities and accumulated dividends is now before a Saudi court appointed to oversee claims against the company, he said.

Algosaibi and billionaire Maan Al Sanea’s Saad Group, two Saudi family holding companies, defaulted on about $15 billion (Dh55 billion) of loans in 2009 as the global economic crisis froze credit markets and asset prices slumped.