Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Ajlan, vice-chairman of Ajlan & Bros and its subsidiaries. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Ajlan & Bros Holding Group, a leading diversified global private conglomerate headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has signed a record number of joint venture agreements and memorandums of understanding this year with top Chinese companies.
It will continue to push forward even closer collaboration as Saudi-China bilateral ties deepen.
The group is among the first Saudi private companies to establish business in China.
As the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 deepens, we believe, with the leadership and support of the two nations’ governments, the exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Saudi businesses will continue to grow, and economic and trade cooperation will become much stronger.
Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Ajlan, vice-chairman of Ajlan & Bros and its subsidiaries
It started in the textile industry and officially inaugurated its first factory in 2002 in Suzhou city, East China's Jiangsu province. This was followed by another one in Zaozhuang city of East China's Shandong province in 2003.
Now all the group's textile businesses in China have been consolidated into Shandong Lawrence Textile in Zaozhuang, which covers an area of 174,732 square meters with more than 5,500 dedicated employees.
Meanwhile, the group has expanded new strategic businesses in recent years, bringing Chinese companies in technology, healthcare, financial services, high-end consumer goods, manufacturing, metal and mining, logistics and tourism to jointly explore the huge potential of the Saudi, Middle East and North African markets, known as MENA.
"As the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 deepens, we believe, with the leadership and support of the two nations' governments, the exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Saudi businesses will continue to grow, and economic and trade cooperation will become much stronger," said Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Ajlan, vice-chairman of Ajlan & Bros and its subsidiaries, who also chairs the Saudi-Chinese Business Council.
On top of this, he has been awarded as an honorary citizen of Zaozhuang and made a friendship ambassador for Shandong, due to his business' contribution to the province's economy and society.
This year marks the group's 20th anniversary of officially entering the Chinese market.
In 2022, the group has partnered with more than 10 leading Chinese companies and entered into various projects with a total value of almost 60 billion yuan ($8.4 billion), making it the group's most prosperous year since its diversification started in China.
The group has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Harbour Engineering, a large State-owned enterprise specializing in infrastructure construction, to work on global projects.
Meanwhile, the group is establishing joint ventures with China's industry leaders including logistics company SF International; mining company Chifeng Gold; smart pharmacy solutions provider Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology; and CHINT, an intelligent energy solutions provider.
In 2017, the group began to transform and diversify its business in accordance with Saudi Vision 2030, which was released in 2016 to diversify the country's economy.
It has been looking to introduce Chinese companies that are leaders in new strategic industries to the Saudi and MENA markets.
Since then, the Saudi government has implemented a number of favorable policies and measures to attract foreign investment.
After the bumper year of 2022, the group believes in further Chinese business development in 2023 and beyond.