Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal gave his first interview with a local Saudi paper in eight years, according to the Saudi Gazette, and the billionaire discussed his path to business successes, how he spends his time, and national/regional issues of concern. The in-depth interview was revealing of the Prince’s day-to-day business and personal activities.
When asked about Kingdom Holding’s reputation for hiring women, Prince Alwaleed said that he always “prefers to side with qualifications regardless of gender” but laments the lack of progress on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. “Women’s rights have regressed since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In fact they have regressed from what they had been 30 years ago. Despite our sympathy with women, we in the Kingdom Holding Company will never abandon our high quality parameters.”
The Prince also addressed his belief that Saudi Arabia should have a sovereign wealth fund, a view that puts him at odds with some other analysts. “I think the Kingdom needs this fund now more than ever, especially with the sharp fall in oil prices. We know that the Kingdom has reserves amounting to more than SR2.6 trillion. This amount includes finances from some other government funds. The Sanabil Investment Company, which the government has established with a capital of SR20 billion, will not do much even if its proceeds are high. The returns of the government investments are not more than 1 percent. This was revealed during recent discussions in the Shoura Council with some officials in the concerned ministries. We have to activate these funds to ensure the government with more profits. This cannot be accomplished without the sovereign fund, which will have returns of 8 to 10 percent a year, as is the case in Norway, China, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and other countries.”
