Top 10 Saudi Family Businesses In The Middle East

Family businesses are the backbone of the Middle East’s economies, with some of the largest businesses in the region run by families through private companies.

Forbes Middle East will be releasing the full list of the Top 100 Family Businesses In The Middle East on Sunday. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil, dominates the list with 36 private companies. These businesses have grown with Saudi Arabia, making billions from the prosperity that transformed the country after the drilling of oil began.

Here’s a look at the top 10 most powerful family businesses in Saudi Arabia.

KEY FACTS

• The Olayan Group is the strongest among Saudi family businesses. The Olayan family owns 4.93% of Swiss bank Credit Suisse, and 18.24% of the Saudi British Bank.
• This is followed by Rashed Abdul Rahman Al Rashed & Sons Group, which is one of the largest private-sector investors in the Saudi Stock market.
• Abdul Latif Jameel is one of the largest distributors of Toyota cars around the world, and today it operates in 30 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

Methodology

We looked at approximately 200 Arab family-owned businesses in the region. We considered:

• Group investments in regional and global stock exchanges and real estate assets.
• Business diversification and the number of sectors in which they have significant operations.
• Types of business activity and to what extent they have been affected by this crisis.
• Number of employees
• Number of countries they are present in and
• geographical diversification
• Date of establishment

1 Olayan Group

Chairperson: Hutham Olayan

Established in: 1947

Sector: Diversified

Founded in 1947 by Suliman S. Olayan, the Olayan Group built its foundations in contracting and commerce in Saudi Arabia. Today, the conglomerate is famed for its diverse commercial, industrial operations and investment portfolio. The family owns 4.93% of Swiss bank Credit Suisse, and 18.24% of the Saudi British Bank. Real estate assets include 550 Madison Avenue in New York City, Knightsbridge Estate in London, and the Hotel Ritz in Madrid, as well as office, retail, and residential assets in Paris’s 8th Arrondissement. Hutham Olayan has also been a board member of IBM.

2 Rashed Abdul Rahman Al Rashed & Sons Group

Chairperson: Abdulaziz Al Rashed

Established in: 1950

Sector: Diversified

Founded in 1950 by Rashed Al Rashed, Saudi’s Rashed Abdul Rahman Al Rashed & Sons Group has 26 wholly-owned companies. It operates in seven business areas, including building materials, cement, and bulk materials, finishing materials, real estate, contracting, industrial products, automotive products, and food products. The company’s investments include 9.83% in Banque Saudi Fransi, 9.9% of Arab National Bank, and 16.9% of Al Yamamah Steel Industries making it one of the biggest private investors in the Saudi Stock market.

3 Abdul Latif Jameel

Chairperson: Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel

Established in: 1945

Sector: Diversified

Abdul Latif Jameel was founded in Jeddah in 1945 by Abdul Latif Jameel as a small trading business. Ten years later, the group was appointed as a Toyota distributor and built the largest vehicle distribution network in the kingdom. Today it operates in 30 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey. Its core operations are mainly in transportation, engineering and manufacturing, financial services, land and real estate, energy and environmental services, consumer products, and advertising and media sectors. The group has grown through various investments and acquisitions.

4 Zamil Group Holding

Chairperson: Khalid A. Al-Zamil

Established in: 1920

Sector: Diversified

Founder Abdullah Hamad Al Zamil first established his trade and services business in Bahrain in 1920. While its portfolio is dominated by wholly-owned and joint-venture entities, Al Zamil Group also owns shares of two publicly listed companies on Saudi Stock Exchange, Zamil Industrial and Sahara petrochemical. Zamil Industrial became the first family-owned company in Saudi Arabia to be listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange in 2002 and was later followed by Sipchem in 2006. Khalid Al Zamil was chairman of the Saudi Council of the Chambers of Commerce.

5 Al Muhaidib Group

Chairperson: Sulaiman Al Muhaidib

Established in: 1943

Sector: Diversified

Investment conglomerate, Muhaidib Group was founded in 1943 by Abdulkadir Al Muhaidib. Today it has more than 200 companies and investments in the region. It holds stakes in some of Saudi Arabia’s leading organizations, including publicly-listed Savola Group where it owns 8.2% and Bawan Holding Company. The group’s investments are mainly focused on food and retail, industrial and infrastructure, real estate, and financial services. Abdulkadir Al Muhaidib ran the company until the 1980s and remained involved in decision-making along with his children, who took over the group’s management.

6 Yousuf M.A. Naghi & Sons Group

Chairperson: Mohammed Yousuf Naghi

Established in: 1911

Sector: Diversified

Family conglomerate Yousuf M.A. Naghi & Sons Group is divided into four diversified companies—each managed by one of the sons of founder, Yousuf M.A. Naghi. The group is Saudi Arabia’s exclusive wide sales and distribution agent for Rolls-Royce, BMW, Mini, and Jaguar. Its FMCG sector includes Reckitt Benckiser products such as Dettol, Harpic and Finish. The group also produces and distributes pharmaceuticals and food products, and electronic brands including LG.

7 Al Nahla Group

Chairperson: Abdulrahman Hassan Sharbatly

Established in: 1996

Sector: Diversified

The Al Nahla Group, founded by Hasan Abbas Sharbatly, is one of the oldest businesses in Saudi Arabia and belongs to the Sharbatly family. The holding and investment company is composed of four clusters: automotive, real estate, trading, and investment. Under its automotive sector are SAMACO Automotive and Fast Auto Technic. SAMACO Automotive imports and distributes Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, Bentley, and Lamborghini. Fast Auto Technic is Saudi’s exclusive dealer of Ferrari and Maserati.

8 E. A. Juffali & Brothers

Chairperson: Khaled Al Juffali

Establihed in: 1946

Sector: Diversified

Brothers Ebrahim, Ali, and Ahmed Abdullah Juffali founded the E. A. Juffali & Brothers company in 1946 in the fields of electric power, communications, and cement. Juffali began growing its international partnerships with brands in the early 1950s including Electrolux, Siemens, and Massey Ferguson, mainly for product sale, marketing, and distribution. By 1959, Juffali became the exclusive distributor of Daimler-Benz AG’s Mercedes-Benz. From automotive, the company has expanded to technology, AC and refrigerator, construction, and chemicals.

9 Sedco Holding

Chairperson: Saleh Salem Bin Mahfouz

Established in: 1976

Sector: Diversified

SEDCO is a Shariah compliant private wealth management and institutional investment company, founded in 1976 by the late Salem Ahmed bin Mahfouz. The Mahfouz family’s businesses include direct, financial, and real estate investments, as well as education and healthcare. SEDCO Holding wholly owns Saudi Arabia’s biggest car rental company, Auto World, which was founded in 1981. It also owns 50% of MENA’s largest pharmacy chain, Nahdi, 49.5% of Red Sea Mall in Jeddah, and 21.3% of Indonesia’s largest Islamic bank, Bank Muamalat.

10 Zahid Group

Chairperson: Talal Zahid

Established in: 1943

Sector: Diversified

Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Zahid Group was founded by Mohamed Mahmoud Zahid. The group’s first business was to represent GM in the Kingdom. Today it has a portfolio of 23 companies operating across 11 sectors and representing over 50 international and homegrown brands, including Volvo and Daewoo. The company specializes in the supply of heavy vehicles and has been dealing Caterpillar vehicles in the kingdom for over a half a century. Chairman Talal joined his family’s company in 1967.

Source: Forbes Middle East