Saudi construction conglomerate Saudi Bin Laden Group (SBG) owed more than $30 billion as a result of lower oil prices, according to The Wall Street Journal with reference to informed about the problem of bankers and financial advisors. According to the two lenders, the company has defaulted on several payments.
Sources claim that the reason defaults have become of late payments from the Saudi government for the work performed. In one of the units of the SBG stated that he had not received financing from the parent company in six months. Sources said that months-long delays in payments have affected subcontractors and suppliers.
At the end of February in Mecca, there were mass demonstrations of workers SBG, who were protesting against unpaid wages. The representative of the Saudi Ministry of labour said the WSJ that the company was punished according to the law.
The newspaper reminds that SBG has maintained close relations with the Saudi leadership and has received billions of dollars in goodlady, including the beautification of the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, as well as for the implementation of major infrastructure projects.
The company’s debts accumulated to Finance these mega projects, told the WSJ several creditors. According to the publication, loans SBG gave both Saudi and foreign banks.
In September last year during the Hajj the pilgrims crowd from a gust of wind has fallen tower crane. In the ensuing panic and the ensuing stampede killed hundreds of people. The incident, according to sources the WSJ, soured relations between the SBG and the leadership of the Kingdom, whose head is officially the custodian of the two Holy mosques. According to the publication, as a result, king Salman has suspended the company from engaging in new projects and banned its leaders from travelling abroad.
SBG is a family-owned company and does not publish financial statements. She refused to give the WSJ comments on his financial situation. Two source publication, recently met with the leadership of the SBG, said that the company’s management is confident that it will be able to cope with current problems.
According to interlocutors of the edition, it is unlikely that the authorities will admit the bankruptcy of SBG, as it is an “integral part of the Saudi system”. According to estimates by industry sources, the company accounts for 70% of all Saudi construction contracts.
The former leader of the terrorist group “al-Qaeda” (activity in Russia is prohibited by a court decision) Osama bin Laden is one of many sons of the founder of SBG, but never had a relationship to the company. However, after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. the many relatives of the victims have filed lawsuits against the company, which were subsequently rejected.
