South Korean tech company Suncore said Thursday that Prince Khaled bin al-Waleed, the son of Saudi Arabian business magnate al-Waleed bin Talal, has become the largest shareholder of the company in its regulatory filing.

Suncore said Prince al-Waleed has invested around $10 million in the company to take a 5.6 percent stake. 


The prince’s father, Saudi Arabian business tycoon al-Waleed bin Talal, is a member of the Saudi royal family, Citigroup’s largest individual shareholder and chief of Saudi conglomerate Kingdom Holding Company.

He currently serves as a vice chairman of the board of directors at Kingdom Holding Company and is the chief of Dubai-based investment firm KBW Investments.

“This is my first visit to Korea. We plan to have more meetings with Korean companies and government officials to find more business opportunities here alongside Suncore,” Prince al-Waleed said at a press briefing held in Seoul on Thursday.

“We will also help Suncore jump into the Saudi Arabian market and other Middle East nations,” he said, without elaborating on details.

Suncore said it recently had an agreement with KBW Investments to get a consulting service on how to join the Jeddah Project.

The Jeddah Project is Saudi Arabia’s new city project including the construction of the Jeddah Tower, which will reach the 1-kilometer-high mark and become the tallest building in the world, if completed as planned by 2020.

The project is organized by Kingdom Holding Company, owned by the prince’s father and where Prince al-Waleed is serving as a vice chairman on the board of directors.

Suncore said the company is expected to join the project in the areas of education, health care and production facilities, but nothing has yet been confirmed.

The relationship between Suncore chief Choi Kyu-sun and Prince al-Waleed started some 20 years ago, as Choi was acquainted with the prince’s father, the company said.

The Suncore chief, then an aide to the president, served a key role in leading al-Waleed bin Talal to visit South Korea in 1997, amid a national financial crisis, according to Choi. At the time, the Saudi Arabian business mogul invested a huge sum in struggling companies Daewoo and Hyundai Motor to help in their financial difficulties.

Choi also translated “Alwaleed: Businessman, Billionaire, Prince” an autobiography of al-Waleed bin Talal in Korean, which was published here in 2015.

“This is the first time that a Saudi Arabian prince has become the largest shareholder of a Kosdaq-listed company. We are honored to have the prince as our biggest stakeholder,” said Choi at the press event.

“With the partnership with the Prince Khaled, we plan to jump into Saudi Arabian and other Middle East markets,” Choi added.

Suncore, set up in 1978, specializes in electronics parts such as the press die and oil-less bearing, but the firm has recently been diversifying its business portfolio into defense and automobiles.

The tech firm acquired Dodaam Systems last year to expand its business into the artificial intelligence defense industry, including defense robot simulators and unmanned guard systems.

Suncore also signed a deal with China’s largest electric car-maker BYD early this year to operate the company’s electric buses in Korea.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)