Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding , the investment firm owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, posted a 20.5 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, on the back of higher investment profits.

Kingdom made a net profit of SR265 million ($70.6 million) in the three months ended September 30, compared to SR219.9 million in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

It attributed the rise to an increase in profits from investments and to lower finance charges.

The investment firm has minority stakes in some of the world's top companies. Aside from being one of the largest shareholders in Citigroup, it owns stakes in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and microblogging site Twitter. - Reuters