Prince Alawaleed: Citigroup Is Strong And Other Thoughts (C)

Prince Alawaleed is on CNBC with Maria Bartiromo discussing the non event of the Day of Rage today in Saudi Arabia.

Alawaleed said that in the morning he prayed with king, and after prayer, he went down to where the protests were supposed to happen, and no one were there. He said said the "Day of Rage" needs to have a different name. He referred to it as a "Day of Allegiance."

Alawaleed described it as a "tempest in a tea cup." He said that Saudi citizens were embracing themselves, that they were happy with king, and you could see flag waving.

Prince Alawaleed said that he thinks King Abdullah is a reformer, and will continue to advance the citizens of the country. Bartiromo asked Alawaleed about the right for women to drive in the country, and Alawaleed said that he was for it.

Alawaleed said President Obama made some important points about reform in the Middle East in his speech earlier. Alwawaleed said that countries need to move at their own pace in terms of reform, without outside interference.

Bartiromo asked him about the crude oil supply. Alawaleed said that Saudi Arabia could cover all of Libya's production within a matter of days, and that Saudi Arabia is the stabilizer in terms of oil. Alawaleed said that $100 oil is not justified.

Bartiromo spoke to him about putting money to work in the Saudi stock market earlier in the week. Alawaleed said that the 22% correction in the Saudi stock market was "ridiculous," and put money to work. The stock market corrected by 15%. He cited strong economic growth, huge amounts of currency reserves as reasons for Saudi economic fundamentals.

Alawaleed said that he is happy with his position in Citigroup C and that he assures Citigroup does not need additional equity, and that he foresees buybacks and dividends for Citigroup after speaking with CEO Vikram Pandit. Alawaleed said that he wants dividends early, as he is a shareholder, but will wait for the okay from the Federal Reserve to Citigroup. He doesn't have a sense of when this exactly will come, but expects it soon.