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About SEDCO > Company
History
The Saudi Economic and Development Company, founded in 1976 as a small trading and construction contracting business in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has evolved into a diversified international corporation, engaged in financial investments, real estate, and direct equity investments.
The Bin Mahfouz family has maintained 100 percent ownership in the Company since its establishment by the head of the family, the late Sheikh Salem Bin Mahfouz. Sheikh Salem's life story is a remarkable tale of vision and commitment that enabled him to overcome lack of schooling and an impoverished childhood to become one of Saudi Arabia's preeminent business leaders. He played a vital role in the early development of the Saudi financial services industry and built a reputation not only for fairness and ingenuity but also for a commitment to philanthropy and social service.
In 1912, at the age of six, Salem and his brother Sultan hiked from Hadramaut in Yemen to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Salem began his career as a houseboy and rose to become founder and manager of the National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia's first and largest privately owned bank and one of the largest financial enterprises in the Middle East. The shareholders of SEDCO divested all their interest in NCB in 1994.
Sheikh Salem was also the guiding hand behind the establishment and progress of SEDCO. Today it is one of the premier businesses in Saudi Arabia that complies with Islamic investment guidelines. Restructured in 1996 as a private investment company, with a diversity of investments in Saudi Arabia and around the world, SEDCO strives to combine sophisticated modern fund management practices with Islamic principles.
Three of Sheikh Salem's sons have senior management responsibilities. They are:
Till his death in March 2008, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Mahfouz was the Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee. He was recently succeeded by Sheikh Saleh Salem Bin Mahfouz.
The Company is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and employs more than 1,500 people in the Kingdom.
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