ABDULLATIF Alissa Group Holding Company (AAGH), the pioneer of automotive sales, service, financing and leasing in Saudi Arabia, has been ranked 10th in the “Top 100 Making an Impact in the Arab World” by Forbes. The Forbes survey looked at unlisted, private companies across the Arab world, with a particular focus on those companies seen to be contributing to social development, charities and charitable work and to companies adjudged to be supporting economic growth in their home countries and the wider region. The criteria for the ranking included transparency in financial information in terms of operations and business results, quality of sustainable CSR programs, global presence and size, the number of years of trading, social interactivity, charitable initiatives and the size of the CSR and overall expenditures. Since AAGH's inception by the late Sheikh Abdullatif Al Issa in the 1940's, the company has evolved substantially from its original focus in textiles and foodstuff trading. Today AAGH is a diversified conglomerate with annual revenue exceeding SR4 billion and around 3,000 employees. As well as importing world-class motor vehicles into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the company also incorporates servicing, financing and leasing services. AAGH has further diversified its investments and business development activities within the industrial and real estate sectors. Chief Executive Officer, Abdullatif Alissa Group Holding Company, Nasser Al-Qahtani, said: “We are honored to be ranked 10th among ‘Top 100 Making an Impact in the Arab World' by Forbes. We cherish the values that Forbes considers to be critical for successful companies in the 21st Century: transparency, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. At AAGH we constantly invest to develop our service offering and our organizational culture. We promote accountability, responsibility, transparency and strive to ensure that all our people work in a cohesive, efficient and ethical manner toward a shared goal." AAGH has always maintained a best in class governance framework to successfully achieve the group's objective and to safeguard its business growth. AAGH governance framework directly impacts the Company's operations, and has a significant impact on the long-term business development. AAGH's corporate governance framework creates clear guidelines to direct the Group's general policies. In addition, AAGH works closely with the Government's Human Resources Development Fund to constantly improve its Saudization quota which is a major goal and performance standard for the group. — SG
