Riyadh: The Saad Group, owned by the Saudi businessman Maan Al Sanea, has announced new debt restructuring plans at a time when family companies in Saudi Arabia are struggling to keep afloat.
In a press release, the group said that it had appointed Lawrence Graham law firm to work with, BDO Capital Finance to restructure the company's obligations and liabilities towards the Bahrain-based Awal Bank which is owned by the Group.
Gulf News has also learnt from informed sources that another family company operating in the major retail sector and based in Riyadh, was facing financial difficulties. The company could fail to service its loans owing to a rather ambitious expansion programme that has been worsened by falling profitability.
Saab, the Saudi British bank, said that a prominent businessman in the central region had been overcome by the crisis and had failed to repay bank loans availed to him. The report, however, said the picture was still good for others.
The report added: "In light of the recent stories and reports about the financial status of some international companies in the eastern region, we find ourselves faced with many important questions, namely: What is the extent of difficulties faced by these companies?"
Family firms in the Kingdom control a large part of the economy. Around 95 per cent of the listed companies are family owned, according to the Saudi Chamber of Commerce.
In a meeting of businessmen in Jeddah last month, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) Mohammad Al Jasser refused to talk about the bad debts incurred by the National Commercial Bank which were written off.
