Business
Sheikh Al-Amoudi migrated from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia when he was 19. He built up a private fortune in construction and property before diversifying into the downstream energy sector with major refining and retail investments in Morocco and Sweden. These have since developed into a significant retail presence in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Since these acquisitions, there have been further major diversifications into mining, agriculture, hotels, healthcare, logistics and finance, largely in Ethiopia but also throughout the world.
He employs around 40,000 people mostly through two major holding operating companies, Corral Petroleum Holdings and MIDROC, both of which he wholly owns and in which he acts as Chairman and CEO.
Corral, registered in Sweden, assumed control in 1999 of two Moroccan oil refining companies in which it already had a majority investment – Samir and SCP. It merged them to gain economies of scale and invested around $500m in modernisation of the plant. Corral is now the dominant player in the Moroccan energy market, both in terms of refining and distribution. Corral’s Swedish interests are reviewed under the Sweden section of this website.
MIDROC is a global conglomerate with operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It undertakes major projects that are not only commercial but have overseas development and humanitarian aspects. There is a long term commitment to the transfer of technology to emerging market managements and work force as part of a wider commitment to development through trade rather than reliance on aid.
SAMIR is a Morocco-based subsidiary of Corral Holdings. The company’s Mohammedia refinery supplies refined petroleum products mainly for the domestic market. Storage and distribution through the wholly owned La Societe Marocaine de Transport et de Stockage de Produits Petroliere (TSPP) is supported by petroleum trading activities which optimise crude prices. Samir SA is also engaged in bottled gas production from its factory in Sidi Kacem. It has a 50% interest in butane and propane gas distributor Salam Gaz, and a 38% stake in SOMAS, engaged in the importation and underground storage of butane.
Svenska Petroleum Exploration is a private Swedish oil and gas company engaged in offshore exploration and production of oil and gas in fields worldwide. Currently, it has production activities in Angola and the Ivory Coast. Exploration activities are focused on West Africa, the North Sea as well as the Baltic region.
Sheikh Al-Amoudi’s business philosophy is entrepreneurial but long term, seeking out opportunities that link the emerging and developed worlds and hiring the best management talent to ensure that his companies constantly strive to meet best practice standards in the global business community. Despite the immense scale of his business interests, he is a hands-on strategic manager and thinker, with excellent relations with those banking and public policy communities that might affect the health and welfare of his businesses and their employees.
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