French President François Hollande and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) and chairman of Alwaleed Philanthropies (AP) held a meeting at the French presidential palace, the Elysee, recently. The meeting was attended by key officials from both sides. During the meeting, the two discussed economic, cultural matters and topics related to investments. They also discussed the bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and France. The deliberations also took note of strong relations between Prince Alwaleed and France, especially KHC's investments in France that are considered to be the largest Saudi Arabian presence in France through the full ownership and the management of the iconic landmark the Four Seasons Hotel George V, the management of Le Royal Monceau Hotel (Raffles), the management of the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat in the south of France, in addition to, Disneyland, Paris (Euro Disney), 7 hotels in Disneyland, Paris, and through the presence of Citigroup. Apart from this Alwaleed Philanthropies has donated $20 million in 2005 to establish the center of Islamic Art at the Musée du Louvre as part of the cultural contributions. In 2015, Hollande and Prince Alwaleed had also held a meeting at the French presidential palace leading to the formation of a strategic alliance between France and KHC. A consortium of France's big companies led by the CDCIC International Capital, the International investment arm of Caisse des Depots, France's Sovereign Wealth Fund, approved an investment in KHC. The deal allowed the acquisition of KHC's shares with a minimum amount of $150 million (SR563 million) subject to increase. Moreover, Prince Alwaleed retained all the 95 percent stake in KHC. In a separate deal, KHC & CDC France's SWF had announced a launch of $400 million fund. The investment fund was to seek attractive investment opportunities in small and medium size enterprises in Saudi Arabia with the participation of large French corp orates, in addition to diversifying KHC's investment portfolio. In 2006, HRH was bestowed the medal of "Legion of Honor," with the rank of Commander by former French President Jacques Chirac during an official ceremony held at the Elysée Palace. The medal is the country's highest civilian honor, and it was bestowed to the prince in recognition of his role in strengthening Saudi-French cultural, business and economic relations. In 2009 Former President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded Prince Alwaleed with the "President of France Medal". In 2007, Prince Alwaleed was awarded the "Golden" medal by the French minister of culture and communication. Founded in 1980, KHC is a publicly traded company which was listed on Tadawul (the Saudi Stock Exchange) in 2007. Today, KHC is one of the world's most successful and diversified business organizations with investments across 12 sectors. For over two decades, the company has been a leading player in the global hospitality industry, building shareholder value by acquiring, developing, actively asset managing and monetizing high-quality hospitality assets. — Agencies
