With the controversial elevation of Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) to the position of crown prince, the past few years have been rocky for the family. MBS arrested several of his family members and seized their furniture, in what appears to be a power struggle playing out along the margins of cruelty and cajolery.
MBS recently pressed his cousin Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to sell Flynas, a Riyadh-headquartered carrier, at low-cost in favor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal received death threats in case he rejects the offer.
Flynas had been planning a potential listing, but the floatation could be delayed if the stake sale to PIF goes ahead.
Saudi Arabia has been pumping money into the aviation industry to make the country a top tourism destination as it diversifies away from fossil fuels.
In March, Saudi Arabia launched a new national airline – Riyadh Air – that will connect the capital city to over 100 destinations by 2030.
The new airline, headquartered in the Saudi capital and wholly owned by PIF, will be chaired by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF. Tony Douglas, the former CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, has been appointed chief executive officer.
In what was a busy month for the kingdom’s aviation industry, March also saw the launch of a second new carrier in the shape of Neom Airlines.
Solely serving the $500 billion Neom city in the north west of the country, the first flights for tourists, residents and commercial partners are scheduled to take off in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Saudi Arabia is also building a new airport in the capital, that will be owned by PIF. The fund, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a key part of the kingdom’s plan to transform the oil-dependent economy.
Recently, a 4 percent stake in energy giant Saudi Aramco has been transferred from state ownership to Sanabil Investments, the investment arm of the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
The move follows a similar transfer last year worth tens of billions of dollars, with the wealth fund now controlling a total of 8 percent of shares in Aramco.
The transfer will affect Aramco’s total number of issued shares, as the shares transferred will rank equally alongside other existing ordinary shares in the firm.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been known for decades as among one of the richest Middle East investors.
MBS shocked the world in 2017 when he had the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton turned into a holding cell and detained many senior figures, some of whom were royal family members including Alwaleed bin Talal. While the outlet states that King Salman issued the arrests, it was MBS who had the order carried out.
Saudi officials then forced those detained to transfer the bulk of their money and assets to the Saudi government as a condition to their release from arbitrary arrest at the Ritz Carlton
