Why Did bin Salman Give al-Zamil Family Significant Economic Influence in Saudi Arabia?

The Zamil Group has returned to the forefront as one of the largest Saudi companies, with its control and influence over the country's economy, supported by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The group was established in 1930, two years before the announcement of the establishment of the Kingdom (September 23, 1932), and is owned by al-Zamil family, which has close ties to the successive kings and princes.

The Zamil family has consistently backed King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with a special relationship between them that goes back even before they took power.

In 2013, King Salman himself (who was then Crown Prince and Chairman of the Royal Family Council) chose Adib bin Abdullah al-Zamil, one of al-Zamil family's sons, to head the Sanabil Development Fund for Investment. This is an important investment fund for the Al Salman branch, overseen by Prince Faisal bin Salman.

In 2013, King Salman himself (who was then Crown Prince and Chairman of the Royal Family Council) chose Adib bin Abdullah al-Zamil, one of al-Zamil family's sons, to head the Sanabil Development Fund for Investment.

This is an important investment fund for the Al Salman branch, overseen by Prince Faisal bin Salman.

While Mohammed bin Salman was consolidating his power through relationships with major families in the country, Ayman al-Hamzi, the CEO of the al-Zamil-owned WAHAJ company, took over as president of Vision Industries. Vision Industries is specialized in the solar, wind, and green hydrogen energy sectors. It is a joint project that was launched in 2021 by the al-Muhaidib Group and Abunayyan Holding, two other clans closely related to al-Zamil, after approval from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

This highlights the importance of al-Zamil by their expansion into various sectors, as the family has become like a large octopus with arms extending into various economic areas, but with the approval of Mohammed bin Salman, who is opening up many opportunities for them.

 

Military Communications Project

On March 20, 2023, Intelligence Online published a report on the expansion of the Zamil group in Saudi Arabia. The report mentioned that the group is a leading player in the defense industries in the kingdom and has a massive business base and projects there.

The magazine further stated that one of al-Zamil's companies, the Saudi Advanced Technologies Company, WAHAJ, signed a new contract with Saudi Telecom Company (STC). The French magazine added that STC chose WAHAJ for a project to install mobile antennas for sensitive joint communication missions between the Ministry of Interior and Defense, the Royal Guard, the General Intelligence Agency, and the Presidency of State Security.

The contract with WAHAJ to implement the Military Communications Project overseen by STC as the main contractor indicates that the al-Zamil-owned company has maintained a strong presence in the defense technology system built by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The report also stated that WAHAJ is actively seeking a partnership with the US defense company Boeing to manufacture small-diameter guided bombs (GBU-39), despite the tension between Riyadh and the administration of US President Joe Biden. However, the al-Zamil family remains a crucial connector between all parties, thanks to their activity and diverse relationships.

In 2018, the American company Lockheed Martin targeted a contract with WAHAJ to manufacture components of its laser-guided bombs (LBG).

In 2022, the British company BAE Systems collaborated with WAHAJ to sell its fighter jets of the BAE Systems Hawk model.

These significant deals have made WAHAJ the crown jewel of the Zamil group.

WAHAJ was established in 2013 under the leadership of Bander bin Abdulrahman al-Zamil as a joint project between the South Korean Hanwha Defense Industries and the Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem), owned by the Zamil group and supported by Mohammed bin Salman.

 

Serious Incursion

The choice of Zamil Group and its subsidiary WAHAJ by Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the leading telecommunications service operator in the kingdom, is a serious infiltration for the al-Zamil family.

STC's expansions are not limited to the local level; in 2019, it acquired a 25% stake in the Access Group in Malaysia, which manages several mobile phone networks in Malaysia, Indonesia, and India.

STC also obtained 26% of the third mobile phone license in Kuwait for a value of $924.6 million.

The company also has varying stakes in several local and regional institutions and companies, including Arabsat, a satellite broadcasting company, and the Arabian Submarine Cable, which connects the coasts of the Red Sea (Saudi Arabia – Sudan).

The company also acquired 100% of the internet service provider, AwalNet, in addition to the Saudi Trade Company.

All of this gives the Zamil Group additional strength through its presence in the circle of Saudi Telecom Company, especially in the sensitive field of security and intelligence communications, which cannot be separated from espionage and intelligence work.

Despite Riyadh's ownership of multiple national telecommunications companies, the Saudi Telecom Company remains the most important among the communication companies in the kingdom.

However, Saudi Arabia has an infamous record in human rights violations and spying on opponents through those companies or specific applications used to target opponents. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has sought to acquire spy applications to enhance its telecommunications systems, becoming a wide center for espionage in the Middle East.

On December 4, 2018, Saudi opposition figure Omar bin Abdulaziz, who resides in Canada, filed a lawsuit against an Israeli company claiming that it "assisted the Saudi government, specifically the Saudi Telecommunications Company, in eavesdropping and spying on him and monitoring the messages he exchanged with the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."

Khashoggi was killed inside his country's consulate in Istanbul in early October 2018, and the Saudi Crown Prince was accused of ordering the assassination.

Therefore, Zamil Group's involvement in this sensitive issue makes it inseparable from Mohammed bin Salman's security plans and his complete control over the country's internal and external affairs.

 

Zamil Group vs. Rulers

The roots of the al-Zamil Holding Group go back to the agricultural province of Unaizah in the central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the group's founder Sheikh Abdullah al-Hamad al-Zamil (1897-1961) was born.

Al-Zamil's first real business venture was established in Bahrain, which was then the hub of commercial activity in the Gulf region, when he was 19 years old. His business activities included various real estate ventures.

However, he returned to the kingdom; one of his most notable achievements was the construction of the tallest building at the time in al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in 1959.

After Abdullah al-Zamil's passing, the second generation of the family took up the mantle. He had 12 children, including Hamad, Mohammed, and Khaled, who took on leadership roles in the group and expanded it aggressively during the reigns of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

They have become pioneers of the industry in Saudi Arabia, entering highly sensitive industries such as defense and telecommunications. They have even extended their reach beyond the Kingdom to Bahrain, Kuwait, Pakistan, and Indonesia. The total number of employees in the entire group exceeds 10,000.

The al-Zamil family is one of the top 10 wealthiest families in Saudi Arabia, with a net worth of $3.4 billion, according to the Arabian Business ranking for 2022.

Mohammed bin Salman's strategy aimed at tightening control over the state's joints has made him more open to specific families, including the al-Zamil family, especially as they were closely related to his father, King Salman.

On various social occasions, the king and his crown prince made a point of communicating with the al-Zamil family. On October 13, 2019, they offered condolences to the family on the death of Engineer Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Zamil, who previously held the position of Minister of Industry and Electricity.

His son, Osama bin Abdulaziz al-Zamil, is also close to Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as he was appointed on September 8, 2019, as Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources.

Osama was previously the head of the Zamil Group Holding, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Industrial Development Companies in Saudi Arabia.

Khalid al-Zamil, the Chairman of the Middle East Battery Company's Board of Directors, is also close to the Crown Prince. However, Mohammed bin Salman appointed him as a member of the Board of Directors of Dar al-Yaum for Press and Publishing (a government entity) in 2020.

This is in addition to his membership on the Board of Directors of the Islamic Bank of Asia in Singapore, where he is responsible for strategic planning and business development in the Zamil Group.