Saudi Binladin Group (SBG; ), known as Binladin Group Global Holding Company since 2019, The conglomerate comprises an estimated 537 companies. 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, the eldest son of Muhammad bin Ladin, 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 Ladin group. The most important of these include Hasan bin Ladin, Yeslam bin Ladin and Yehia bin Ladin.

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. The government of Saudi Arabia subsequently established a five-person committee to run the Binladin Group, which includes of Abdul Rahman Al Harkan, Khaled Nahas, Khalid Al Khowaiter.

Current activities

The bin Ladin 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:

  • in Egypt, the SBG is headed by Omar bin Laden as Chairman, Khaled bin Laden as vice chairman, Tarek Helmy as CEO, and represents that country's largest foreign-owned private equity group, with over 40,000 employees.
  • in Lebanon, the SBG, represented by Yehia bin Ladin, has been holding negotiations with the local authorities for a $50 million share in the project to rebuild the Beirut Central District within the framework of the Solidere Project and in conjunction with the al Baraka Group and the bin Mahfouz Group.
  • in London, the SBG set up a representative firm called Binexport in November 1990.

The Group has constructed Abraj Al Bait Towers in Mecca and has been contracted by Kingdom Holding Company to build the Jeddah Tower.

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. 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.

References

  • Saudi Binladin Group website
  • Saudi Binladin Group website in United Arab Emirates (.ae) – full version
  • Bin Laden Group at Sourcewatch