Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding , the investment firm owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, posted a 10.3 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday, on the back of higher income from dividends and associates.

Kingdom make a net profit of SR139.4 million ($37.2 million) in the three months to March 31, compared to SR126.4 million in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

It attributed the increase to rising income from dividends and associates, as well as to a fall in 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 a stake in microblogging site Twitter.

In February, Kingdom sold a 5.6 per cent stake in media giant News Corp as part of a portfolio review, generating SR705 million in cash. It retains one per cent of the media company.-Reuters