Billionaire Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is making a 190 million dollar bid for a five-star hotel in a prime Kuala Lumpur location, a report said today.

The Edge Financial Daily , citing unnamed sources, said the prince is making a RM650 million play for the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, a joint venture between IGB Corporation Bhd and Hong Kong's New World Group.

Tan Boon Lee, chief executive officer of IGB's hotel division, was quoted as saying several offers have been received.

"They are nowhere near what we want," he said, without disclosing the price tag or which parties have shown interest.

In a rare interview with London's Financial Times in April, Alwaleed said his Dubai-listed Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) has a one billion US dollar "war chest" and is looking to expand in Asia.

The Edge said Alwaleed bought the Four Seasons Resort Langkawi in northern Malaysia in March.