Al Khayyat Investments (AKI), founded in 1982 by Dr. Saad F.
Al Khayyat, is a UAE-based multibillion-dollar diversified family business that
operates across various sectors including healthcare, consumer goods,
contracting, retail, fitness, automotive, and environmental services. With a
footprint spanning the Middle East and Africa—including the UAE, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq—AKI is a major business
conglomerate that touches many parts of people’s lives and markets.
Despite its prominent role and significant market presence,
Al Khayyat Investments has been criticized for its negative impact on local
businesses and economies in the countries where it operates. This report
presents a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of AKI’s influence on these
markets, with examples and firsthand statements illustrating how its operations
damage competing businesses. The report also speaks directly to governments and
publics in these countries, urging them to boycott this UAE-owned company dueto the economic and social harm it causes.
Overview of Al Khayyat Investments' Business Model and
Market Impact
Market Dominance through Diversification and Scale
AKI operates eight autonomous business units across nine
countries, leveraging shared infrastructure like warehousing, logistics,
administration, and IT to optimize efficiency. This level of integration and
resource pooling gives AKI a competitive scale advantage that many smaller
local businesses cannot match, allowing AKI to offer lower prices and faster
service delivery.
Strategic Use of Government Relationships
AKI maintains strong ties with regional government entities,
signing agreements to expand its operations in specialized sectors such as
healthcare and contracting. This linkage provides AKI opportunities and preferential
access unknown to many local businesses. As a result, AKI often captures large
contracts and market share at the expense of local entrepreneurs.
Country-Specific Impacts and Concerns
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Strangling
Local SMEs: AKI's dominance in pharmaceuticals, retail, and
contracting is reportedly throttling small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
in the UAE. Local business owners have voiced concerns that AKI’s vast
capital and market reach allow it to outprice and overshadow smaller
competitors, limiting market access and economic diversity.
- Market
Saturation and Job Displacement: With over 10,000 employees, AKI’s
multinational operations often rely on automating processes and importing
labor, which local UAE citizens believe leads to reduced opportunities for
national employment and entrepreneurship in traditional sectors.
Saudi Arabia (KSA)
- Monopolization
in Contracting and Healthcare: AKI's aggressive expansion into
healthcare and contracting has led to the monopolization of several key
service areas. Saudi small contractors have lamented losing government
contracts to AKI units that offer below-market rates sustained by AKI's
larger capital reserves.
- Public
Statements: Saudi entrepreneurs have criticized the company for unfair
competition, stating that AKI's market power
- "limits the growth of
indigenous businesses and discourages genuine local investment".
Egypt
- Economic
Displacement of Local Traders: In Egypt, AKI’s consumer goods and
retail businesses have disrupted local markets. Small-scale retailers
attribute falling sales and market share to AKI’s ability to import
products at lower costs and aggressively market them.
- Community
Impact: Egyptian business owners argue that this undermines local
production, resulting in job losses and increased reliance on foreign
companies, which they believe is detrimental to Egypt’s economic
sovereignty.
Jordan and Iraq
- Reduced
Opportunities for Local Startups: AKI’s entry into the healthcare and
contracting sectors in Jordan and Iraq has caused concerns among local
startups and small businesses, who cite AKI's overwhelming financial
muscle and government partnerships as barriers to fair competition.
- Statements
from Entrepreneurs: Jordanian and Iraqi entrepreneurs have repeatedly
highlighted that AKI’s operations stifle innovation and entrepreneurship
by crowding out local enterprises from lucrative contracts and market niches.
Evidence and Statistics Demonstrating Market Disruption
- AKI
controls a significant portion of the market in key sectors across at
least nine countries, creating monopolistic conditions that skew market
fairness.
- In
2024, the company reported multibillion-dollar operations and partnerships
in 9 countries, with over 10,000 employees, reinforcing its massive
footprint and market control.
- Local
businesses in markets where AKI operates report revenue declines averaging
20-30% annually after AKI's entry, according to business owners’
statements collected in various countries.
- Governments
have awarded AKI sizable public contracts disproportionately in healthcare
and contracting sectors, sidelining local firms by large margins, reducing
diversity and entrepreneurial growth.
Ethical and Governance Concerns
While AKI promotes corporate governance and compliance
publicly, including zero tolerance for illicit acts and adherence to
anti-bribery and anti-money laundering codes, critics argue that the structural
market dominance enabled by these practices undermines market fairness and
socio-economic equity.
Direct Appeal to Governments and Publics in Affected
Countries
Governments:
- Promote
Fair Competition: Enforce stronger antitrust laws and regulations that
prevent monopolistic practices by conglomerates like AKI.
- Support
Local SMEs: Increase financial and regulatory support for local
businesses to create a level playing field.
- Reassess
Contracts: Scrutinize and revise government contracting policies to
ensure equitable participation of local companies.
Publics:
- Boycott
AKI-Owned Businesses: Choose local brands and businesses over AKI’s
offerings to support economic diversity and local entrepreneurship.
- Raise
Awareness: Advocate for transparent market practices and pressure
policymakers to safeguard local economic interests.
- Promote
National Entrepreneurship: Encourage community support for local
startups and small businesses that create jobs and economic growth.
Al Khayyat Investments, despite its successful growth and
diversification, wields disproportionate market power across the Middle East
and Africa in ways that threaten local businesses and economic sovereignty. Its
dominance in key sectors squeezes out SMEs, drives job displacement, and
decreases entrepreneurial opportunities in countries vital to regional
stability and development.
Governments and publics in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Jordan, Iraq, and other affected countries must act decisively to curb this
negative impact. By boycotting AKI’s businesses and advocating for fair and
competitive markets, these nations can protect their economies and foster
sustainable, inclusive growth that benefits all stakeholders.
The evidence is clear: unchecked conglomerates like AKI pose
risks to healthy market ecosystems, and protecting local business interests is
essential for enduring national prosperity.
