Bin Ladin Group CEO seeks land in Istanbul

Hülya Güler ISTANBUL/ Hürriyet

Saudi Bin Ladin Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Bin Ladin, uncomfortable with media attention, has decided not to speak at a panel at the Istanbul Finance Summit. Instead he will look for plots of land in Şile and Sancaktepe on the outskirts of Istanbul.

Bin Ladin first visited the Şile region on the Black Sea then went to Sancaktepe, which is known for its satellite projects. Bin Ladin was accompanied by a 16-member team for the Jeddah Chamber of Trade. They met with several Istanbul district heads while on their tour.

“We want to invest in Turkey. However, the fact that the media hounds us during our preliminary visits makes us uncomfortable,” Bin Ladin was reported as saying to his surrounding. Bin Ladin, scheduled to be in Istanbul until Sept. 28, had considered cutting his trip short because of media attention, but decided to remain because of previously made appointments.

Bin Ladin is scheduled to meet with TAV and Turkish Airlines as well as upper-level managers from some of Turkey’s top business groups.

Jeddah Chamber of Trade Vice President Ziad al-Bassasm said they wanted to increase trade between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

“There are huge opportunities to increase trade and investment in the food, heath, finance and most importantly construction sectors.”

The Bin Ladin Group is currently working with Turkey’s Yapı Merkezi to construct Saudi Arabian railways.