Dubai Investment Co. Vying for Glass Factory in KSA

The purchase, if concluded, would give Dubai Investment an edge in the dressed glass market of the Middle East.

The President of the Board of Saudi Hamad Al Draiss Co., Hamad Al Draiss said that his company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Investment Co., which allows it have a look at the Saudi American Glass Factory's balance sheets and other financial statements, as well as the profits achieved over the years.

He added that the Dubai Investment Co. would specify the purchase price it is ready to pay to acquire the factory, after its negotiators have completed their review of factory's financial statements, and other financial matters.

Hamad Al Draiss stressed on the point that signing a memorandum of understanding does not mean final agreement for sale of the factory.

He said that his company would refuse the package offered by the Dubai Investment, if it is not up to the expectations of the company.

He did not wish to specify a date for finalizing the negotiations, saying that it was up to Dubai Investment.

He indicated that at the present time, the American Glass Factory is the only manufacturer of dressed glass in the Kingdom and the whole Middle East and is a competitor of the Emirates Glass Factory owned by a Dubai company.

The aim, he said, that made Dubai Investment interested in buying the Saudi American Glass Factory was to gain a monopoly in the dressed glass market, in the region and to break the competition being offered by the Saudi factory.

Hamad Al Draiss said that the annual production capacity of the Saudi American Glass Factory comes to about 3 million sq. meters of glass. It also produces insulated and multi-layer glass as well as bullet proof glass.

He added that products of Saudi American Glass Factory have been used in such important buildings as the Al Faisaliya Tower, the Kingdom Tower, King Fahd International Airport in the Eastern Region, Floor Mills and Grain Silos, and Jarir Co. buildings, in addition to a number of big companies' buildings and factories in Riyadh, the eastern Region and also western Region. The Saudi American Glass Factory's products have also been exported to the neighboring countries such as Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.

He indicated that Dubai Investment is a group of 3 companies that operate in the field of real estate and industry, both inside the UAE and abroad. The main activities of the group are the industries of medicine, glass, petrochemicals and electronics.