Riyadh: Billionaire Saudi Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, who owns investment firm Kingdom Holding, expressed scepticism about cryptocurrencies in an interview with CNBC on Monday, warning that bitcoin was like “Enron in the making”.
Prince Al Waleed, whose company invests in major US companies such as Citigroup and Twitter, said a lack of regulation made such cryptocurrencies risky.
“I just don’t believe in this bitcoin thing. I think it’s going to implode one day. It’s Enron in the making,” he said, referring to the US energy company that filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after revelations of a widespread accounting fraud.
“This thing does not make sense. It’s unregulated. It’s not under the control of the US Federal Reserve or any other central bank,” he added.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that has gained more than 500 per cent this year, more than any other tradable asset class.
Prince Al Waleed also said the valuation of electric car maker Tesla Inc was “too exuberant” for him to invest.
“I would rather not comment on that because maybe some people think the valuation is right, but it’s not for me to enter that price obviously. It’s too exuberant for me right now.” He added that US ride services company Lyft had been better priced than rival Uber when his investment firm bought into it.
He said he was “very happy” with his investment in Citigroup and saw potential for the share price to rise above $100 (Dh367). It has been trading at around $73.
Prince Al Waleed also said he was not considering merging AccorHotels and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, in which Kingdom Holding owns stakes.
On the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, which its CEO reiterated would take place next year, Prince Al Waleed said the transaction would act as a “safety valve” for Saudi Arabia.
“If you go 5 per cent, there’s nothing that prohibits you from going another 5 per cent next year, and 5 per cent the third year and fourth year, and so forth, depending on the situation.” Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman said last year the country was considering listing about 5 per cent of Aramco in a deal that could raise $100 billion, if the company is valued at about $2 trillion as hoped.
CEO Nasser on Monday brushed off reports about China emerging as a frontrunner in a possible plan to delay the IPO and sell shares to sovereign funds.
“I’m not a member of the government but I read these reports, and I will not be surprised if China will be looking at this opportunity,” Prince Al Waleed said.
“China depends on oil and will depend on oil for a long time to come. And Saudi Arabia is an anchor exporter of oil to China.”
