Alwaleed arrest expected to send shock waves through markets

Riyadh

THE arrest of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world's leading billionaire investors, has sent shock waves through the kingdom and is expected to impact major financial centres when they open on Monday.

Shares in Kingdom Holding, 95 per cent of which is owned by the prince, dived 9.9 per cent as the Saudi stock exchange opened Sunday after reports of his arrest. The Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) also dropped 1.6 per cent a minute after the start of trading on the Arab world's largest stock market. The index later recovered to close 0.32 per cent higher.