Saudi Arabia’s government has named Khalid Nahas, a Saudi businessman, as the chairman of the newly established Binladin Group Global Holding Company, it has been announced.
The move is aimed at curtailing the influence of the Bin laden family in the eponymous construction group, and breaking its exclusive control over its earlier company, Saudi Binladin Group (SBG). It follows a massive restructuring of the company.
Binladin Group Global Holding Company is 36.22% owned by Istidama, a subsidiary of the finance ministry, and 63.78% owned by the Binladin Company for Development and Commercial Investment.
According to a Reuters report, only two brothers – Saad and Abdullah, represent the Bin Laden family on the nine-person board.
Citing a document from the Kingdom’s commerce ministry, the report said that other board members of the new entity include senior Saudi businessmen with experience at of the Kingdom’s most successful companies, such as Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries Corp, and property developer Jabal Omar Development Company.
It added that Klaus Froelich, SBG’s chief financial officer, has resigned following the shakeup.
The former Morgan Stanley banker was hired in 2016 to help the group overcome a crisis sparked by the collapse of a construction crane in Makkah’s Grand Mosque.
For decades SBG has built Saudi Arabia’s roads, mosques and palaces, and it is crucial to ambitious new plans for major tourism and infrastructure projects.