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Riyadh: The Indian multinational conglomerate Tata intends to expand its activities in Saudi Arabia, starting with a new luxury hotel.
The group’s Taj hotel brand, which advertises itself as a “fusion of warm Indian hospitality and first-class service”, has already established itself on the Dubai market. Two hotels are in operation in the United Arab Emirates and two more are under development.
Sunil Sinha, Tata-based director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, announced that a fifth hotel is currently under way in Saudi Arabia and a number of additional locations are being considered for future expansion.
“A luxury property with 340 rooms is pending in Mecca and is due to open in 2022. With a focus on tourism and development like the Red Sea (luxury target project), NEOM and Qiddiya, there are many opportunities for us to grow our hotel brand as an operator in this region, ”he told Arab News.
Tata has been with MENA for more than 50 years and is active in 24 companies in eight sectors, employing more than 10,000 people and generating combined sales of at least $ 3 billion.
The Group’s interests in the region include information technology and telecommunications through Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Communications Ltd., Automotive with Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Infrastructure of the Voltas company, Tata Consulting Engineers and Tata Projects. and consumer and retail through titanium watches as well as the Tetley and Tata Tea brands.
“We are also pleased to have the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Saudi Aramco, STC, SABIC, SEC, Riyadh Metro, NZB, Al Rajhi, NWC, GE, Ma’aden, Saudia and Panda among our customers.” said Sinha.
Sunil Sinha
Despite the group’s numerous successes in the region, the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged Tata employees, customers and businesses alike.
Sinha noted that the impact of the global health crisis was evident in the holding group’s full-year sales for 2020, which were down $ 7 billion from 2019 in more than 100 countries.
However, he praised the group’s leadership for their swift and decisive action when the pandemic hit that prevented the need for immediate layoffs.
“We set up daily calls, monitored what was happening in every part of our business, and quickly encrypted all of our resources to see how we could help our communities too. People were our top priority. Employees were given full flexibility to work from home or some other secure environment, ”he added.
He noted that Tata has also taken several initiatives to help its 750,000+ employees around the world.
“Aside from providing financial support, helping our frontline caregivers, and sourcing essentials, we’ve also helped build digital and physical infrastructure to support this struggle. We were one of the first to announce a major grant of more than $ 200 million in support of the fight against the virus.
“All of the group’s employees also contributed a daily salary, and the actual financial aid has far exceeded our previous commitment,” he said.
Regarding further expansion into the MENA region, Sinha added that most of the large companies in the group already had a presence in the Middle East, but new opportunities arose in many areas, particularly in technology and telecommunications, hospitality, infrastructure, Consumer and Retail Aerospace and Defense.
“With the focus on the Saudi government towards Indian suppliers as a strategic partner, we would like to meet the requirements of the country with our integrated solutions in this area,” he said.
Two areas earmarked for a particular development were retail and transportation. “We already sell our watches under the Titan brands, beverages under the Tata Tea, Kanan Devan and Tetley brands, and food under the Tata Salt and Tata Sampann brands in most of the GCC countries and will expand some of these businesses in the region.” he added.
The Tata Motors Group, which consists of JLR and Tata Motors, is a major player in the kingdom. Since 2009, JLR has been represented by the importer Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Co. LLC with showrooms and service centers in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar.
“Our two new launches, I-Pace and The Defender, have had a great initial response and we look forward to the success of these launches,” said Sinha.
At the same time, Tata Motors currently has more than 10,000 vehicles on Saudi roads and is a dominant player in the staff and school bus segment. The company also sees potential development in pickups and heavy trucks, especially as the Kingdom moves on with its massive infrastructure development program and mega-projects.