JEDDAH – In a complex and at times volatile business environment, the test of entrepreneur's acumen and erudition is not simply a matter of balancing the book, but rather diversifying business for further growth. Obviously, running a business, much more expanding it and venturing into other sectors, especially under uncertain situation, is not for the fainthearted. It is for the strong-willed, as successful entrepreneurs only made it past the difficult times by being strong-willed. They never let pessimism, difficulty or any other problems stand in their way, for they know that with every step forward, entrepreneurs get closer to attaining their ultimate vision. For the Vice-Chairman of Abdul Aziz Al-Saghyir Holding Company (AAHC), who is steering the company to further heights, it seems that he never let pessimism, difficulty or any other problems stand in his way. On the contrary, his determination propelled the company to what it is now, earning him a place in the sun. Waleed Al-Saghyir, the consummate Vice-Chairman of AAHC, radiates his intuitive character, creativity, self-motivation and authority – qualities of an unwavering entrepreneur – in an interview wit the Saudi Gazette. Asked about the regionally disturbances and how they would impact the company and the Kingdom's investment markets and economy, he said “what really distinguishes the company is the economic, security and political stability which represent an extremely important aspect for investment especially given the current regional wars and conflicts which hugely affected the economics of neighboring countries and harmed their investment environment to a great extent. We can't predict the future but we're confident about having a wise and conscious political leadership that better knows the welfare of our Kingdom and citizens. From our past experiences, we gathered that the Kingdom's policy is first and foremost on the side of peace and stability and that makes us optimistic about the future.” Al-Saghyir pointed out it is always better to have “alternative plans in the event that any risk emergencies arise” though “we exert all our efforts to achieve the ultimate best.” In a business group like Abdulaziz Alsaghyir Holding which has a lot of subsidiaries and sister companies as well as a broad range of investments and economic activities, successful management has a crucial participation of its Board of Directors, he said. The Board is taking care of finding, appointing and enabling strong and conscious managements for each subsidiary besides to determining and distributing the responsibilities of these managements, following-up on their work and evaluating their achieved results so eventually each department would carry out its responsibilities, fulfill its role and achieve all requirements assigned to it, Al-Saghyir elucidated. “This administrative formation enjoys the advantage of being extremely flexible thus allowing the management of each subsidiary to work independently according to how it perceives its administrative affairs yet in a manner that guarantees perfect harmony between the vision of these subsidiaries and that of the holding company as well as the aspirations and objectives of the Board of Directors,” he said. At the same time, the company Board plays a significant and vital strategic role in managing the affairs of this large group of affiliate companies as well as the different investments. In terms of this, the Board monitors the group's general performance on regular basis and issues decisions that ensure enhancing the positive results and aspects and restrict the negative ones, if any. With its diverse economic and investment activities, Abdulaziz Alsaghyir Holding is proud to be a local company that has supported the national economy since more than quarter of a century and it still does. “All thanks to Allah, the company has contributed to developing and flourishing work in different economic sectors on the national level via establishing or partnering in the establishment of gigantic powerful companies in several sectors; such companies managed to become milestones and bright spots in our local economy. The most important among these sectors are: the construction and contracting sector, investment and financial sector, retail sector and telecommunications sector,” the self-effacing Vice-Chairman of AAHC said. Asked about the Group's major future projects in the local, regional and global domain, he revealed their investment plans in the two vital economic sectors. The first is the food industry sector which the company regards as one of the most important economic sectors that shall intensely develop given the growing demand for food due to the increase in population, rise in the purchasing power in addition to the constant change in the customers' tastes and desires. In light of this, the company established Abdulaziz Alsaghyir Foods Co. Ltd specialized in each and every kind of foodstuffs. The company conducts its investments via the acquisition of companies in the foodstuff field or the establishment of specialized ones. In this regard, the company is keen on the manufacturing, distributing and retail aspects. The second important sector – which the company will soon approach – is the privatization and mega projects sector. Abdulaziz Alsaghyir Holding has contributed to the establishment of “Qudurat Holding for Development” which is a limited liability company specialized in the field of privatization; and mega projects including operating and managing airport activities besides to water, energy and mining projects and other gigantic investment fields. The company functions through the acquisition of shares in some companies, in addition to establishing a company specialized in the areas where it operates in collaboration with global technical partners. Moreover, with investment in the telecommunications, banking and real estate sectors, balanced investment policies appeared to be the determining factor for growth. Al-Saghyir said “we totally believe in the balanced investment policy, so we've distributed our investments over a number of vital and important investment sectors in an attempt to reduce risks and achieve the highest possible level of stability and growth in revenues. In fact, we have invested in every sector of an anticipated good future including the real estate sector, construction sector, banking and financial sector, telecommunications sector and the retail sector. Afterwards, we decided to invade promising and unique sectors such as the privatization and mega projects sector as well as the food sector, driven by our desire to diverse in investment and to explore horizons of new opportunities in numerous sectors.” — SG/QJM
