By Stacy Meichtry
PARIS--France's sovereign wealth fund and a host of French
companies became some of the first foreign players to invest in
Saudi Arabia's tightly regulated stock market Friday.
France's Caisse des Depots et Consignations joined several
French firms--including insurer AXA SA (CS.FR) and telecoms
operator Orange SA (ORA.FR)--in investing $150 million in Kingdom
Holding Company, or KHC, its chairman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al
Saud said at a news conference flanked by French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius.
KHC and Caisse Des Depots et Consignations are also teaming up
to create a $400 million fund to invest in small and medium-sized
Saudi firms, Prince Alwaleed said, adding the investments aimed to
"strengthen further the alliance between France and Saudi
Arabia."
Prince Alwaleed noted the French investments in KHC marked the
first time foreign entities were investing in a firm traded on
Saudi Arabia's stock market since it was opened to foreign
investors.
The investments follow a spree of deals and trade accords signed
by France and Saudi Arabia this week, ranging from aerospace to
waste management.
Write to Stacy Meichtry at stacy.meichtry@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires