RIYADH: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), and largest shareholder in Citigroup, expressed his support of Citigroup's reverse stock split and the reinstatement of its cash dividend policy.
Prince Alwaleed is a prominent investor in Citigroup through KHC since he first invested in the company in 1991, and is the largest single shareholder in the company. In January 2008, the prince participated in a $12.5 billion private offering of convertible preferred securities of Citigroup. The new direct investment was made alongside an exclusive group of leading international investors. The prince converted the preferred shares in 2009 into common shares (voting shares).
Citigroup announced on March 21, 2011 a 1-for-10 reverse stock split of Citigroup common stock; also that it intends to reinstate a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per common share in the second quarter of 2011.
Prince Alwaleed commented: "Citigroup has demonstrated its ability to overcome the recent economic obstacles. I commend Citigroup's performance and the management of Citigroup under the leadership of Vikram Pandit."
Early this year, Prince Alwaleed met Pandit in New York and they discussed the latest developments in Citigroup and future plans of the Company. During the visit, the prince re-affirmed his support for Pandit and Citigroup's management.
In 2010, Prince Alwaleed received at his office in Riyadh, Pandit during his visit to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the prince hosted a luncheon for Pandit at Kingdom Resort. During Pandit's visit to Saudi Arabia, he met with Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Gov. Muhammad Al-Jasser and Abdulrahman Al-Tuwaijri, chairman of Capital Market Authority. Also in the same year, Prince Alwaleed was received by Pandit at Citigroup Headquarters in New York. Prince Alwaleed also met with Richard Parsons, chairman of Citigroup.
© Arab News 2011
