Didnt know that kim guy was a saudi prince..
UPDATE 2-"Cautious" Saudi prince buys $1bln tech shares
(Adds telephone interview)
By Tara FitzGerald
DUBAI, April 6 (Reuters) - Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who has recently invested $1 billion in technology stocks, said on Thursday he was taking a cautious approach to the sector and would not be swept away by the dotcom frenzy.
``Some tech companies for example are very highly valued and I do not believe they can sustain and keep these high values,' the prince told Reuters, after announcing investments in America Online Inc (NYSE:AOL - news), computer firm Compaq (NYSE:CPQ - news), Eastman Kodak Co (NYSE:EK - news) and Xerox (NYSE:XRX - news), made over the last six months.
A statement from the prince's Kingdom Holding Company said he bought $400 million of shares in each of AOL and Compaq and invested $100 million each in Kodak and Xerox. This brings the total value of his investment in AOL to $1.05 billion, it said.
``We have been closely tracking the performance of some of these stocks for about two years, awaiting the right target price,' the prince said in the statement.
He said the transactions had been made due to a correction in prices which was ``one of those historic moments to seize.'
``The right timing is very crucial to me. The right timing and the right entry price,' the prince told Reuters in a telephone interview from Riyadh, citing Apple Computer Inc (NasdaqNM:AAPL - news) as an example of this strategy.
``I bought Apple at $18...and look now, it's around $140,' he said. The shares were trading around $132 at 1425 GMT Thursday.
PRINCE EYES TOP BRANDS
The prince said he had chosen the targets for his latest investments on the basis that they were all strong international brands, had potential for growth and had all been ``hammered badly' recently.
He said these factors would distinguish them from the raft of new dotcom firms whose shares rocketed in the bull market.
``I do not believe the market can sustain these incredibly high price-earnings ratios. Some of these companies will survive, there's no doubt about that, but they cannot survive with these high-flying, crazy prices,' the prince said.
``I think eventually the market will sort itself out and distinguish between those who should be there, survivors who are making profits, and those who should not be there,' he added.
These latest investments raise the total value of the prince's technology, media and telecommunications portfolio to more than $7.3 billion.
It includes stakes in News Corp. (Australia:NCP.AX - news), Euro Disney's Disneyland theme park , Kirchmedia [KRCH.CN], Apple and Motorola Inc (NYSE:MOT - news).
The prince, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, also holds investments in banks, hotels, broadcasting, airlines, computers, cars and real estate. |
