Close to home, Exel-Saudi Arabia, an Olayan joint-venture (with the UK’s Exel Overseas) recently signed a 10-year contract with Saudi Aramco to provide comprehensive logistical services for Saudi Aramco throughout the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Olayan Financing Company continues to assess opportunities in Egypt via the US$200m investment firm it set up with Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding, the Dubai-based diversified business house, Oasis Capital Egypt and Orascom Telecom. MAF and Olayan each have a 30% stake in the new company, and the rest is held by Orascom Telecom.

This is the first time that an alliance between three such dominant corporations has been formed in Egypt. Targeting investments of US$25m to US$35m, the new company seeks majority stake ownerships in underperforming Egyptian firms. This deal alone could add a billion dollars to Olayan Group’s value within two years. Another windfall could come from Sama, Saudi Arabia’s first low-cost airline, in which Olayan is an investor.

Overseas investments continue to shine. With state-run Abu Dhabi investment vehicle and Germany’s VW group, Olayan owns LeasePlan, the world’s biggest vehicle management and leasing provider with total assets of US$27.9bn with a lease portfolio of US$23.9bn. It also owns 70% of Peel Holdings, one of the UK’s most powerful property developers, which owns Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport, the Trafford Centre shopping complex, the Manchester Ship Canal, Glasgow Harbour and the Mersey Docks.

The Olayan Group started off as a trucking concern in 1947. In 1954 its founder Sulaiman Olayan launched General Trading Company, the group’s food and consumer distribution business and was instrumental in bringing commercial insurance to Saudi Arabia, founding Arab Commercial Enterprises (ACE), which went on to become the region’s largest insurance and reinsurance broker. Olayan approaches its 60th anniversary owning more than 50 companies and has big stakes in MetLife, Credit Suisse, First Boston and American International Group.

After Sulaiman’s death in 2002 son Khaled became group chairman. Speaking about his father, who was an international investor and philanthropist, Khaled said on June 2003, “Though he had no formal higher education of his own, my father had an insatiable love of learning his entire life. He was a great promoter of education for his children and the whole wide world.”

Acclaimed journalist, Michael Field who penned ‘The Merchants’ also authored ‘From Onayzah To Wall Street’, a biography of Mr. Olayan. Along with Sulaiman’s widow Mary, the three other children – Hayat, Hutham and Luba – share nearly US$7bn.