Citibank Chief Executive Vikram Pandit stated that his company is exploring new investment opportunities in the Middle East as a core-part of its growth strategy.
Pandit made the statement while meeting with Saudi Arabian billionaire and Prince, Alwaleed Bin Talal, who is currently the single largest individual shareholder in Citibank. Pandit did not go into explicit detail about what investments that Citi might be seeking to make in Saudi Arabia, but iterated that the investments would be part of Citigroup’s strategy to focus on its core business.
Alwaleed’s holding company, Kingdom Holding, said that he and Pandit met and “discussed economic issues and the latest developments in Citigroup.” The statement also said that Pandit met with the Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf and the head of Saudi Arabia’s central bank, Muhammad al-Jasser in Riyadh.
During the meeting, Alwaleed re-iterated his support for Citigroup’s current management team including Pandit. Last month, Alwaleed told Fox Business that 2010 was the year that Pandit needed to deliver results to shareholders since he had already been given two years to turn Citigroup around. Back in 2006, Alwaleed was unhappy with Citigroup’s former CEO, Chuck Prince, complaining that the banks cost were growing at a faster rates than its revenue. Pandit replaced Prince in late 2007.
