The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the 2nd biggest proven oil reserves in the world (20% of the known reserves on the planet). This explains its economy’s heavy dependenсe on petroleum. Revenues from oil production, refining and sale account for 90% of the local economy. The country also is the 5th biggest proven natural gas reserves holder. This fact accounts for its title of the "Energy superpower" and the top position in terms of annual GDP globally.
Due to the crude oil prices rehabilitation to their previous high values after the big collapse in 2015, the Saudi business had a successful year in 2018. Local companies registered significant improvement with their primary financial metrics, such as market capitalisation, assets, profit and sales, and this growth trend keeps steady in 2019. Due to this fact, companies from Saudi Arabia represent the biggest part of the Top 100 listed companies in the Arab world.
Below, we come with a rating of the largest Saudi companies by assets in 2018, based on company data from our company intelligence platform. The oil prices growth caused an increase in the banks' margins, so no wonder that almost 50% of the companies from this list are banks. The second largest group are, oil producing and refining companies.
Get acquainted with the big dogs of Saudi Arabia business, access their financial insights and evaluate the Saudi market correctly. Check out the Top-30 largest public companies by assets in Saudi Arabia in 2018.
*All figures are in USD. M: Millions of USD, B: Billions of USD
*SAR was converted to USD using an average currency rate of 3.75 SAR to 1 USD
1. Saudi Electricity ($119B)
Saudi Electricity Company (further SEC) is the local electric power generation, transmission and distribution monopolist with $119B in assets as of 2018. The company operates 45 power generation factories, and the functioning thereof resulted in $119B in profits in 2018. It is also planning to grow its power generation capacity to 91 GW by 2020. SEC is one of the three founders of the 1st autonomous solar power station in Saudi Arabia.
2. National Commercial Bank ($118B)
National Commercial Bank (further NCB) is the largest bank by assets in Saudi Arabia and the second among Arab countries (according to Argaam). Like the absolute majority of the Arab banks, NCB offers Shariah-compliant banking and is planning to turn in a fully Islamic bank by the end of 2019. NCB owns major shares in a Turkish (TFKB) and a UK (PIB) bank. The company operates multiple offices in Saudi Arabia, which, together with the rest of the $118B total assets of NCB, generated $2.6B in profit in 2018.
3. Al Rajhi Bank ($91.4B)
Al Rajhi Bank, once the largest Islamic bank by capital in the world (as of 2015), is now the 2nd biggest bank by assets and the 3rd largest public company in Saudi Arabia. The bank operates over 600 branches and almost 5,000 ATMs across the Persian Gulf countries and Malaysia. Here is the financial data for 2018 Al Rajhi Bank made public: assets - $91.4B, market value - $35.7B, sales - $4.2B and profit of $2.4B.
4. SABIC ($86B)
SABIC is the leading industrial sector representative in Saudi Arabia and one of the biggest public companies in the Middle East with $4.9B annual profit and $93.9B market value. It also enters the Top-5 largest chemical producers in the world. SABIC is a manufacturer focused on metals, chemicals, petrochemicals, fertilisers and industrial polymers. The company's total assets worth $86B include chemical and petrochemical factories in the Middle East and China and multiple sales offices and logistic hubs in Europe. SABIC employs around 10,000 professionals working in over 25,000 countries.
5. Samba Financial Group ($60.7B)
Samba Financial Group SJSC (further Samba Financial Group) is one of the biggest banking companies in Saudi Arabia, that generated profits of $1.3B in 2018. Its network consists of 66 branches in the home country, 28 - in Pakistan and 3 - in Qatar, Dubai and London. Utterly, the value of all the company's assets is $60.7B. This figure allowed Samba Financial Group to enter the Top-5 largest Saudi Arabian public companies by assets in 2018.
6. Riyad Bank ($57.7B)
Riyad Bank is one of the top financial institutions and the 6th largest public company ranked by assets in 2018 in Saudi Arabia with assets value of $57.7B. It is a entity, which is half-owned by the local government (51%). The multiple branches of the Riyad Bank are served by over 3,200 employees, which managed to generate $1.1B in profit and achieve $2.6B revenue in 2018.
7. Banque Saudi Fransi ($51B)
Banque Saudi Fransi (further BSF) is a big Saudi Arabian bank with $51B in assets and is a member of the second biggest French bank - Crédit Agricole Group. BSF clients are served by over 3,000 professionals, working in more than 120 branches across the country. Together they achieved a $941M profit in 2018. Operating exclusively in Saudi Arabia, BSF offers Islamic banking services like almost any other bank from the region.
8. Saudi British Bank ($50B)
Saudi British Bank (further SABB) is a Saudi Arabian public joint stock company with HSBC from the UK as a minority stakeholder. SABB is operating in 81 locations across Saudi Arabia and the UK (namely London), employing over 5,000 professionals. Its total assets were worth $50B, and it made $2.2B in sales in 2018. SABB is one of the most prominent Saudi Arabian banks by assets in 2018, according to the Global Database business intelligence platform.
9. Arab National Bank ($45.8B)
Arab National Bank (further ANB) is one of the 10 biggest Middle East banks and the 13th 2018 Saudi public company by assets, worth $45.8B in total. It also has an 'A' rank in the Standard and Poor's credit score rating. ANB is a public company with the Arab Bank from Jordan as a major shareholder. It owns a 40% stack, and around 5,000 Saudi shareholders hold the rest (60%).
10. Alinma Bank ($30.7B)
Alinma Bank is yet another financial joint stock company from Saudi Arabia. It was founded with 1.5B shares each with a nominal value of around $2.7 adding up to a share capital of $4B. Alinma Bank registered $536M profit in 2018. The company provides exclusively Islamic financial services via multiple local branches, ATMs, mobile and web applications, online banking and phone, and are fully Shariah-compliant.
11. Saudi Telecom ($28.8B)
Saudi Telecom Company (further STC) is the largest Saudi Arabia telecommunications company, providing a wide range of telephone and internet services. The company is competing with Etisalat from the UAE on the local market. Over 17,000 employees serve its clients from the Gulf (Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE), Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey) and Africa. The company owns $28.8B in assets, that, together with the staff, generated $2.7B profits in 2018. The market value of STC is $44.1B.
12. Alawwal Bank ($26.6B)
Saudi Hollandi Bank (further SHB or Alawwal Bank), the oldest operating bank in Saudi Arabia, owns $26.6B in assets as of 2018. Around 45 branches, 16 of them having women-only sections, and more than 265 TCR (Teller Cash Recycling) ATMs are just a part of them. SHB also owns over 36 banking centres across the kingdom. Alawwal Bank enters the Top-20 Saudi public companies by assets in 2018 according to Global Database.
13. Saudi Arabian Mining ($25.4B)
Saudi Arabian Mining Company (further MA'ADEN) is the biggest Saudi mining company by assets in 2018. The company's activity is built around gold base metals. Aluminium refinery, gold mining enterprise, diammonium phosphate plant - these are just some of the MA'ADEN's assets, that are worth in total $25.4B and generate good financial results. For example, the numbers for 2018 were as follows: $191M in profits and a $17.3B market value.
14. Saudi Investment Bank ($25B)
Saudi Investment Bank (further SAIB) was established in 1977 and is one of the most prominent Saudi banks by assets ($25B) and the number of branches. SAIB operates 52+ branches and many ATMs across the kingdom. It also has card printing kiosks where any customer can print his bank card without visiting a bank office. SAIB branches generated $1.1B in sales and got $376M in profits in 2018.
15. Bank Aljazira ($18.2B)
Bank Aljazira (BAJ) registered assets of $18.2B and a market value of $3B in 2018. Given the fact that it is one of the fastest growing banking institutions in Saudi Arabia, the forecasts for 2019 are more than optimistic. BAJ operates since 1976 and offers Shariah-compliant services to its clients for the last 17 years. The professionals working for BAJ in 79 bank's branches across the kingdom managed to generate $397M in sales in 2018.
16. Bank Albilad ($16.9B)
Al Bilad Bank (further Bank Albilad) is a public company from Saudi Arabia, operating in banking and finances sector and providing exclusively shariah-compliant services to its clients. It has a special Shariah department to monitor the Shariah committee's decisions implementation across all the bank branches. Over 2,300 employees managed to make $789M annual sales and receive $251M in profits in 2018. The assets of the Bank Albilad were worth $16.9B in the last year.
17. Petro Rabigh ($16.4B)
Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (further Petro Rabigh) is a hydrocarbon and petrochemicals producer and distributor from Saudi Arabia. Its giant refinery from Rabigh with a 400,000-barrel capacity is just a part of the company's assets worth $16.4B. The annual output of the Petro Rabigh assets is 140M barrels of petroleum and 5M tons of petrochemical products. This resulted in a $379M profit in 2018.
18. Kingdom Holding ($13B)
Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) is the biggest public investment holding by assets ($13B) in Saudi Arabia as of 2018. KHC main areas of interest are tourism, real estate, petrochemicals, aviation, media, financial services and other, which provided the holding with a profit of $176M last year. Here are just some of the world-known brands and companies KHC invested in: Twitter, Apple, HP, eBay, Coca Cola, Walt Disney, Amazon, McDonald's and many more.
19. Mobily ($10.8B)
Etihad Etisalat Co. (further Mobily) is the main competitor of the Saudi Telecom and the second largest telecommunication services company in the kingdom. Almost 30% of the company's shares belong to the UAE enterprise Etisalat. Mobily had assets worth $10.8B in 2018, and the market value was $3.8B. The last year turned out to be unstable for Mobily, as, in spite of the $3B in sales the company registered -$189 profit .
20. National Industrialization ($9.1B)
National Industrialization Company (further Tasnee) is one of the Saudi industrial leaders with $9.1B assets and the 1st joint-stock industrial enterprise fully owned by the private sector. The company is operating 4 strategic business units, such as petrochemicals, metallurgy, downstream and titanium. Tasnee is known as the biggest titanium dioxide producer in the world.
21. Almarai ($8.5B)
Almarai is the largest food processing company by assets in 2018 in Saudi Arabia and the biggest vertically integrated dairy enterprise in the world with assets worth $8.5B. The enterprise was established by Agri pioneers from Ireland, that managed to boost the local food and beverage manufacturing and distribution industry. Almarai has a livestock of 200,000 cows, and the milk they produce is being sold in more than 55,000 stores across the Persian Gulf countries.
22. Dar Al Arkan ($7B)
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company (further DA'AR) is the biggest property development enterprise by market capitalisation ($3.3B) in Saudi Arabia. It is also a member of the Top-30 local public companies by assets ($7B) according to Global Database. DA'AR is the entity behind such big projects, as I Love Florence Tower, Interiors by Roberto Cavalli in Dubai, as well as Al Manar Residential and Al Shati AlZahabi (Golden Coast) in Riyadh city.
23. Saudi Industrial Investment Group ($6.7B)
Saudi Industrial Investment Group (further SIIG) is yet another petrochemical enterprise from the Top-30 Saudi companies by assets in 2018, based on data from Global Database. Its total assets were worth $6.7B last year, and the market value was $3.2B. 2018 was a successful one for SIIG in terms of sales, which hit $2.2B. At the same time, the profits were only $268M. The company owns oilfields and refineries, and operates as a producer, wholesaler and retailer of petrochemical products and derivatives.
24. Savola Group ($6.2B)
Savola Group (the so-called Nestlé of the Middle East) is one of the dominant Saudi Arabian food and beverages companies with assets of $6.2B and market value of $5.4B. The main markets Savola Group operates on except the home country are the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. Panda Retail Company, the biggest Middle East grocery retailing chain, also belongs to the group.
25. National Shipping Company Of Saudi Arabia ($5.6B)
National Shipping Company Of Saudi Arabia (today known as Bahri) is the leading transportation and logistics company in the kingdom. Established in 1976, it managed to become the national shipping carrier of all sorts of goods, including chemicals, oil and oil products. Bahri has $5.6B in assets and owns a big cargo fleet of 91 vessels, including 44 Very Large Crude Carriers. As a public company from Saudi Arabia, Bahri has over 50% of its shares listed on the local stock exchange.
26. Emaar The Economic City ($4.6B)
Emaar The Economic City is a real estate and construction company from Saudi Arabia. It operates mainly as the developer of the megaproject King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and its infrastructures. It managed to get $383M in sales in 2018, though its profit was only $161M. The KAEC assets of $4.6B were the reason for it to be included in the Global Database's list of largest Saudi public companies by assets in 2018.
27. Saudi International Petrochemical ($4.3B)
Saudi International Petrochemical Company (further Sipchem) was founded in 1999 and managed to accumulate assets worth $4.3B in the last 20 years. The primary feedstocks supplier of the company is Saudi Aramco, the biggest oil and gas enterprise by revenue and the most profitable company in the world, that overcame even Apple. Sipchem demonstrated decent financial results in 2018: $117M in profits and $1.2B in sales. The entity's market value as of 2018 was $2B.
28. Bupa Arabia For Cooperative Insurance ($2B)
Bupa Arabia For Cooperative Insurance (further Bupa Arabia) is the leading health insurance provider in Saudi Arabia, owning assets of $2B. The company employs around 2,000 professionals who serve over 3M clients with the biggest Saudi companies among them. Such a significant number of clients and their high level allowed Bupa Arabia to generate $2B in sales and $133M in profits in 2018.
29. Advanced Petrochemical ($1.2B)
Advanced Petrochemical is a petrochemical company from Saudi Arabia. It is the biggest polypropylene manufacturer and seller in the kingdom with $1.2B in assets and $2.7 market capitalisation as of 2018. Besides polypropylene, Advanced Petrochemical produces homopolymers, as well as block and random copolymers. The company's earning results for the Q1 2019 were $173M, which is $38M+ more than a year before.
30. Jarir Marketing ($767M)
Jarir Marketing company (further Jarir) is a major retailing and wholesaling company, operating in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. Books, toys, crafts materials, software, computer peripherals, photography tools, mobile phones and accessories are just some of the products Jarir works with. It has over 55 branches across the Persian Gulf countries, 46 of them located in the home country. The company's total assets were valued at $4.1B in 2018, helping it to get to the Global Database’s Top 30 Saudi Arabian companies by assets.
