Kingdom Holding Company’s net profit rose to SR181.2m ($48.3m) in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 1.28 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2012. Its net profit over the first half of 2013 was SR291.3m.

The investment firm, which is owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and holds $17bn in assets, says the yearly increase is due to higher income from dividends and associates.

Kingdom Holding holds stakes in companies such as the US’ Citigroup, Twitter, and NewsCorp, as well as various hotel chains including Canada’s Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

In October 2012, Kingdom Holding appointed a group of banks to arrange a loan of about $500m for the company.