Alghanim

Founded Kuwait (1932) (unlisted)

Headquarters: Shuwaikh, Kuwait
Key people: Kutayba Alghanim (Chairman)
Omar K Alghanim (CEO)

Company Profile:

Alghanim Industries is one of the largest, privately-owned companies in the Gulf region. A
multinational company in outlook with operations in 40 countries, Alghanim Industries is a multi-
billion dollar conglomerate with more than 30 businesses involved in the following sectors:

• Advertising and media

• Automotive sales and services
• Consumer credit
• Consumer engineering (home automation, air-conditioning and elevators)
• Document management
• FMCG wholesale and distribution
• Insurance
• Manufacturing of industrial goods in building and construction materials and structures
• Projects engineering (building management and electro-mechanical solutions)
• Retailing in building and home construction products/tools
• Retailing in consumer electronics
• Retailing in home furnishings
• Shipping and transportation services
• Travel

Key facts and figures about us:

• We deal with over 300 global brands and agencies

• We have established strongholds in the Middle East, India and Turkey with operations
currently extending to Eastern Europe, Africa, East and Southeast Asia
• We are a market leader in almost every major business in each major geography that we
operate
• We employ around 12,000 employees from across 45 nationalities
• We have a long history of success built upon the early adoption of global best practices
• We are a highly respected family and brand name in the region

We place a high value on commitment and investment in our people who contribute to the continued
growth and vitalization of our business. Renowned for our progressive business culture and
management philosophy, we consider finding and developing talented and energetic people as crucial
for executing our growth agenda.

History

One of the major steps was the association with General Motors (GM) to introduce American made
vehicles in Kuwait, what is today one of the largest GM agencies in the world.

In the late seventies and the early eighties, the holding company became known as “Alghanim
Industries” with several business units and brands operating under its umbrella. Some of the leading
brands that Alghanim associated include Hitachi, British Airways, Phillips, Kirby Building Systems,
and Frigidaire.
Throughout the 1990's and following the second Gulf War in 2003, the company formed marketing
collaborations and strategic alliances with corporate giants such as Xerox, Whirlpool, Haier, Lofra and
American Express.

Today, Alghanim Industries is on the brink of major expansion. Its expansion is part of the journey to
achieving Alghanim’s vision of becoming the most successful and admired company in the region.

In the news

Kuwaiti banking billionaire Bassam Alghanim became the first visible Gulf casualty (of the subprime
crisis)Tuesday, when he resigned as chairman of Gulf Bank, Kuwait’s second-largest lender. At issue:
an estimated $800 million in losses the bank incurred as a result of defaulted derivative trades, the first
case of public hemorrhaging in the region.

Alghanim was promptly replaced by his brother, Kutayba, though it is questionable whether that
appointment represents a true changing of the guard. Bassam and Kutayba share a majority stake in the
bank through their family industrial conglomerate, Alghanim Industries.

The multibillion-dollar outfit was founded by their father Yusuf in 1932 and has since grown to
become one of the largest private companies in the Middle East. Kutayba, also worth $2.8 billion, is
currently chairman; his son Omar serves as chief executive.

The Kuwait Parliament on Wednesday approved a law stipulating state guarantee on all deposits in
local banks to the tune of $23 billion. Alghanim on Wednesday extended his gratitude to Minister of
Finance Mustafa Al-Shimali’s declaration that the government was ready to support the bank by
becoming one of its active shareholders, upon the bank’s recapitalization.

Like the rest of the world, the region’s banking sector has been thrust into turmoil amid the global
financial crisis, with central banks forced to inject liquidity into the system to ease tight credit
conditions.