Latest Saudi Oger News
Oger to the Riyadh court
The approval of the recommendations of the committee formed to study the subject of Saudi Oger distressed owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri
By Arabian Business
21 Jul 2018
A Saudi newspaper confirmed on Saturday that the recommendations of the committee formed to study the Saudi Oger construction company owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri had been approved.
The Supreme Council of the Judiciary has prepared a study that concluded the generalization of the implementation courts in Saudi Arabia and the executive services in the general courts by transferring any existing enforcement actions against the Saudi Oger Limited Company to the Specialized Judicial Department in the Execution Court in Riyadh. Facilitate and accelerate the adjudication of proceedings, standardization of procedures and implementation of the recommendations of the Committee.
Saudi authorities want to settle the financial consequences of the collapse of Saudi Oger, which was shut down last year after crippled by cuts in government spending, mismanagement and corruption, causing thousands of workers and banks not to pay their dues.
Saudi Arabia's creditor banks have been hit by 13 billion riyals ($ 3.5 billion) under pressure from regulators in recent quarters to make provisions to cover their exposure.
In late April, two sources familiar with the news agency told Reuters that Saudi Arabia was forming a committee to deal with the restructuring of Saudi Oger debt. The first source said then that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) had notified banks in recent weeks that a committee would be formed to deal with claims related to Saudi Oger.
The construction sector was hit by a reduction in government spending on new projects and delays in payments due to falling oil prices.
The state is expected to take a stake in another construction company, the Bin Laden Group, as part of a financial settlement after members of the bin Laden family were detained as part of a crackdown on corruption in November 2017.
But while bin Laden's group has recently received government payments to help it overcome its crisis, Saudi Oger has not yet received significant multi-billion dollar dues.
The second source, also at the time, said that the Commission, which would consist of representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and the Ministry of Justice, would deal with the funds due to staff, the debt service and the payments due to the Government as a first priority. The source added that it would also deal with the debts owed by the government while dealing with the debts owed by Saudi Oger to banks at a later stage.
The Saudi government, keen on Saudi Arabia's image abroad, is also keen on getting thousands of Saudi Oger workers, many of them foreigners, to pay their dues.
While Bin Laden's group is believed to have a future after restructuring its business, Saudi Arabia is unlikely to have a role in implementing Riyadh's plans to set up real estate, industrial and tourism projects aimed at diversifying the resources of the oil-dependent economy, the sources said.
