Saudi firm still buying

Press, 9 April 1981, Page 22

Saudi firm still buying

PA Wellington Saudi New Zealand Capital Corporation, whose major shareholder is Prince Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz, a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, is to continue buying shares in local public companies, according to a spokesman. The company, set up in January with a capital of s2f* million has recently boug stakes in a number of loca companies. The latest purchase, last Friday, was a 4.6 per cent shareholding in Motor Holdings, Ltd. The spokesman said that investments in companies such as Motor Holdings were basically “situation” ones. The company had no long term plans to buy shareholdings in listed public companies and would eventually aim to concentrate its investments in private firms. Most of the capital that had been subscribed to date was being invested in debt and equity instruments within New Zealand, and for shorter rather than longer term investments. Shares that had been bought in public companies.

offered satisfactory yields. The company regarded its present role as one of an institutional funds manager with a general portfolio of investments. In this it was akin to most other institutional investors in New Zealand. However, on the slightly longer horizon the company’s main interest and objectives were to take shareholdings in non-listed companies. These would be both new and established companies. The management was con-’ tinuing to look at projects within New Zealand of interest to the Saudi company. The company is paid up at present to two-thirds of this level. Prince Aziz has 50 per cent, and the other two disclosed investors are the Development Finance Corporation and the Goodman Group, Ltd. The D.F.C. manages the company’s investment programme under a technical services agreement. The purchase of the Motor Holdings shareholding was a portion of the holdings of South Pacific. Merchant Finance, Ltd.