In 2005, Mohammed Al Issa sold his 94 percent stake in the Saudi Construction Company, which he founded in the early 1970s, and pocketed a couple of billion dollars for his troubles.
The money didn’t sit idle for long. Al Issa is today the second largest shareholder of Saudi Arabia’s
Savola Group
, with an 11.9 percent stake worth close to $400m. Of similar value is Al Issa’s shareholding in Bank Saudi Fransi, the Kingdom’s fourth largest lender by market value. But both are dwarfed by the 9.9 percent stake he holds in
Riyad Bank
, worth over $950m and placing Al Issa among the biggest individual players on the Saudi Stock Exchange, the Tadawul.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Al Issa and Sons (MASC), a holding company created by its founder more than 35 years ago, is active in the financial, industrial, food and real estate sectors. It recently entered the hospitality business and Al Issa has taken a strategic decision to invest directly in several hotels in the Saudi market and internationally. MASC today has a string of five and four star hotels on its drawing board, some of which have already started construction and some of which will soon be in operation.
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