Archived News
Saad Investors Agree to Dissolve Islamic Bond Trust
Business Week
Stephen Timewell
April 28, 2010
Citicorp Trustee Co. Ltd., trustee for a $650 million Islamic bond sold by a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services Co., said investors agreed to dissolve the trust after the unit defaulted on the debt…
Full article here www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-28/saad-investors-agree-to-dissolve-islamic-bond-trust-update1-.html
Saad Group hasn't reached accord with banks on debt - ArabianBusiness 21 April 2010
Saad Investors Agree to Dissolve Islamic Bond Trust
Business Week
Stephen Timewell
April 28, 2010
Citicorp Trustee Co. Ltd., trustee for a $650 million Islamic bond sold by a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services Co., said investors agreed to dissolve the trust after the unit defaulted on the debt…
Full article here www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-28/saad-investors-agree-to-dissolve-islamic-bond-trust-update1-.html
Saad Group hasn't reached accord with banks on debt - ArabianBusiness 21 April 2010
Saad Group, the business owned by Saudi billionaire Maan Al-Sanea...hasn't reached agreement to restructure [its] loans, Chief Financial Officer Maan Al-Zayer said.
"I would tend to say that banks lend money, whether it's to Saad, Algosaibi, or any other entity, and bankss will be able to get their money back in due course."
For the full story, see Arabian Business
Petra Diamonds helps line up buyers for Saad stake
Reuters
Eric Onstad
April 20, 2010
Petra Diamonds (PDL.L) is working to reduce any market impact if major shareholder Saad Investments Company Ltd were to sell its stake, by lining up potential buyers, its chief executive said on Tuesday…
www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE63J23020100420?type=hotStocksNews
Legal experts fear new case of 'libel tourism'
The Guardian
Afua Hirsch
April 19, 2010
Wealthy Saudi businessmen fights back against media claims in New York and Abu Dhabi with libel writ in English high court…Maan al-Sanea, a member of one of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest families, is being sued by banks in New York, Dubai, London and the Cayman Islands over claims he is responsible for more than $15bn of bad debt in banks in Bahrain…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/18/libel-tourism-sanea-case
Sukuk it up - Sharia-compliant finance is not broken, but it is dented The Economist April 15, 2010 THERE was a time when proponents of Islamic finance sniffed opportunity in the crisis. The problems of speculative, casino-like Western banks contrasted nicely with the emphasis that sharia-compliant finance places on an ethical, risk-sharing approach. But risk-sharing looks much less appealing when issuers are defaulting…Three other sukuk issuers have defaulted in recent months: East Cameron Partners, an American oil and gas producer; Investment Dar, a Kuwaiti investment firm; and Saad Group, a Saudi conglomerate… http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15908503 US judge is wary of Saudi case The National April 1 A New York judge has repeated his concern that his court may not be the proper place for claims to be heard from a Saudi company alleging it was the victim of a US$10 billion (Dh36.72bn) fraud by the Saudi businessman Maan al Sanea. For the full story see The National: www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100401/BUSINESS/704019833&SearchID=73387753934649
Court finds Saudi billionaire in contempt over $9.2bn asset freeze - The Financial Times, England, 26 March 2010
Maan al-Sanea, the Saudi billionaire, has been found in contempt by a Cayman Islands court for breaching a worldwide order freezing $9.2bn of his assets.
The judgment of the Cayman Islands Grand Court is another blow to Mr Sanea, the owner of Saad Group, in his bitter dispute with a rival Saudi company.
For the full story see The Financial Times (free registration might be required): http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/319f69e4-3877-11df-aabd-00144feabdc0.html
NY hearing to focus on venue for fraud case - The National, Abu Dhabi, 24 March 2010
Lawyers are set to debate today whether New York is the proper forum for claims against Maan al Sanea, the Saudi billionaire accused of a US$10 billion (Dh36.72bn) fraud against Ahmad Hamad Al Gosaibi and Brothers, a Saudi family-owned conglomerate.
The hearings spring from cases originally brought last summer in New York by the Dubai-based Mashreqbank against the Al Gosaibi group after it defaulted on a foreign exchange transaction worth $150 million. Al Gosaibi has acknowledged the default, but claims it was due to Mr al Sanea’s alleged fraud.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100324/BUSINESS/703249916&SearchID=73388153278568
Al Gosaibi files new fraud claim - The National, Abu Dhabi, 6 February 2010
Documents filed in the New York Supreme Court claim Maan al Sanea, the head of the Saad Group of Saudi Arabia, was involved in multibillion-dollar frauds involving hundreds of foreign exchange transactions with US banks. The allegations, which Mr al Sanea strongly denies, are contained in papers filed by lawyers working for Ahmad Hamad Al Gosaibi and Brothers, the Saudi family conglomerate fighting a long-running battle with Mr al Sanea.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100206/BUSINESS/702069915&SearchID=73388153278568
Judge Concerned About Whether Ahab-Sanea Case Should Be In NY, Chad Bray, Wall Street Journal 5 January 2010
A state judge raised concerns Tuesday on whether a dispute between Saudi conglomerate Ahmed Hamad … online.wsj.com
A Saudi Family Feud Roils World Banks - The WAll Street Journal, October 22 2009
BY MARGARET COKER
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia -- When Ma'an al Sanea married into one of Saudi Arabia's richest families some 30 years ago, he raised eyebrows among his in-laws by rolling up to the traditional wedding tent in a Rolls Royce.
Today, Mr. Sanea and his wife are battling it out with his in-laws -- the Gosaibi clan -- over fraud accusations and a multibillion-dollar pile of bad debt.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125616910974700325.html
Al-Gosaibi sues Saad's Swiss subsidiary - BusinessMaktoob, September 19th 2009
Indebted family conglomerate Al-Gosaibi has sued the Swiss subsidiary of troubled rival Saudi conglomerate Saad Group for alleged fraud in Switzerland, according to Swiss newspaper La Tribune de Geneve.The newspaper also said, without quoting sources, that the offices of Saad Financial Services SA in Geneva had been searched.
http://business.maktoob.com/20090000375022/Al-Gosaibi_sues_Saad_s_Swiss_subsidiary/Article.htm
No Saad, Gosaibi bailout, Saudi reiterates - BusinessMaktoob, September 7th 2009
It is "absolutely unthinkable" for the Saudi central bank to buy impaired assets of debtors such as Saad Group and Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi and Brothers Co (AHAB), the country's central bank governor said.
Muhammad al-Jasser, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), told news agency Reuters in an interview that rules on provisioning and dealing with impaired assets are clear and he expects banks to follow the framework "meticulously".
http://business.maktoob.com/20090000371506/No_Saad_Gosaibi_bailout_Saudi_reiterates/Article.htm
A $10 billion fraud is alleged in Saudi Arabia - The Economist magazine, July 17th 2009
OF THE merchant families that dominate Saudi capitalism, few are as respected as the Gosaibis, a “blue-chip” clan which could borrow on the strength of its name alone. It was, therefore, a shock when in May parts of the family conglomerate, Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Company (AHAB), defaulted, prompting lawsuits in various countries
To read the full article, see the Economist website: http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TQDGSTGS
