| Saudi Binladin Group مجموعة بن لادن السعودية | |
| Type: | Private conglomerate, holding company |
| Founder: | Muhammad bin Laden |
| Key People: | Muhannad Al-Azzawi Chairman |
| Location City: | Jeddah |
| Location Country: | Saudi Arabia |
| Industry: | Construction |
| Owner: | Istidama Holding (36.22%) Bin Laden family (63.78% through the Binladin Company for Development and Commercial Investment)[1] |
Saudi Binladen Group (SBG; Arabic: مجموعة بن لادن السعودية ), known as Binladen Group Global Holding Company since 2019,[1] is a multinational construction conglomerate headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 2011, the Saudi Binladen Group signed a US$1.23 billion contractual agreement to construct the tallest building in the world, Jeddah Tower in Jeddah. They are also party to a US$3.4 billion agreement to construct the Doha Metro located in Doha.[2] The conglomerate comprises an estimated 537 companies. The group's founder was Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, the father of Osama bin Laden.
The SBG was founded in 1931 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden Sayyid, whose relationship with the country's founder, Abdulaziz Al Saud, led to important government contracts such as refurbishing the mosques at Mecca and Medina. In 1964, Mohammed bin Laden was commissioned to reclad the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.[3] After the death of Sheikh Mohammed in 1967, the group was headed by Mohammed Bahareth, brother of Mohammed's first wife and uncle of his oldest children. In 1972, Salem bin Laden, the eldest son of Mohammed bin Laden, took over as his father's successor with the assistance of several brothers. Upon Salem's death in a plane crash in 1988, the leadership of the group passed to one of Salem's brothers, Bakr, along with thirteen other brothers who make up the board of the bin Laden group. The most important of these include Hassan bin Laden, Yeslam bin Ladin and Yehia bin Laden.
The Group considered an initial public offering in 2011, but declined to do so due to a combination of low oil prices, a weak stock market, and bureaucratic obstacles.
In April 2018, Bakr bin Laden, as well as his brothers Saleh and Saad, transferred their 36.2% stake in the Saudi Binladin Group to the Istidama Holding Company, which is owned by the Ministry of Finance.[4] The government of Saudi Arabia subsequently established a five-person committee to run the Binladen Group, which includes of Abdul Rahman Al Harkan, Khaled Nahas, Khalid Al Khowaiter.[4] Reuters described the ownership transfer as a functional nationalization, with al-Harkan, the committee's chairman, reporting to Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan.[4] al-Karkan subsequently negotiated an 11 billion riyal loan from the Ministry of Finance.[4]
The bin Laden group is represented in most Saudi cities - Riyadh, Dammam - and in a number of major cities in the region (Beirut, Cairo, Amman, Dubai). According to a synopsis by the PBS news program Frontline:[5]
The Group has constructed Abraj Al Bait Towers in Mecca[6] and has been contracted by Kingdom Holding Company to build the Jeddah Tower.[7]
On 11 September 2015, while doing construction work in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, one of the Group's cranes collapsed due to high winds causing 118 deaths and almost 400 injuries.[8] As a result, the Saudi king banned the firm from taking new projects while having its current projects reviewed. The Saudi government removed the ban on the Binladin Group in May 2016, allowing them to bid on new projects.[8]
SBG's Internet domain name, saudi-binladin-group.com, was registered on September 11, 2000, for one year, expiring on the same day as the September 11 attacks. The domain was later acquired by a domain speculator.[9]