TMG says to self-finance Egypt hotel project after Saudi prince Alwaleed’s arrest

Egypt’s largest listed property developer Talaat Moustafa Group says it will finance the expansion of Four Seasons Sharm El-Sheikh resort by its own resources following the detention of its partner Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal this weekend.

Egyptian Investment Minister Sahar Nasr announced in early August that Alwaleed bin Talal will invest about $800 million to expand the Four Seasons resort in Sharm El-Sheikh, in partnership with Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG).

Yet, over the weekend, Alwaleed, a member of the Saudi royal family and the wealthiest man in the Middle East on the Forbes billionaires list, was arrested in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, along with at least a dozen other prominent Saudis amid a reported crackdown on corruption. Prince Alwaleed has holds shares in Citigroup, Twitter, and Apple, and accordingly his net worth fell $1.2 billion on Monday following a $700 million drop on Sunday.

TMG denied in a bourse filling any participation of Prince Alwaleed or his companies in the Egyptian group or units.

The Egyptian company further said that a total value of $213 million has been invested so far in the Four Seasons Resort Sharm El-Sheikh expansion project. Another value of $170 million is yet to be directed to the project, and “will be financed by the company,” TMG added.

Upon the completion of the expansion project next year, Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh will be the world’s largest Four Seasons resort, with 1400 rooms total. The project is expected to positively affect tourism flow to the Egyptian Red Sea city.