Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is eyeing three big investments in the near-term, setting a high bar for the acquisitions as he pursues ambitious returns of at least 20 percent, he told a German newspaper.

Alwaleed, a nephew of Saudi Arabia’s king who was estimated by Forbes magazine last year to have a fortune of over US$19bn, already owns a 7 percent stake in News Corp and plans to start a cable news channel.

“We are currently in talks over three quite big [investment] projects – one in Saudi Arabia, one in the [Arab] region and one internationally,” Alwaleed told business daily Handelsblatt‘s Tuesday edition.

“Our targets are very high – at least 20 to 25 percent. Other Arab investors take a different stance, they want to diversify away from oil and take lower returns of 6 to 8 into account,” he added.