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Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Transformation Attracts Foreign Investments

Visitors on the third day of Cityscape Global, currently held in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Visitors on the third day of Cityscape Global, currently held in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Transformation Attracts Foreign Investments

Visitors on the third day of Cityscape Global, currently held in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Visitors on the third day of Cityscape Global, currently held in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

On its third day, Cityscape Global saw the signing of a number of investment agreements and deals between local and international parties, reflecting the extent of global interest in Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector.

The Cityscape Global exhibition, which is currently being held in Riyadh, brought together more than 350 companies from 21 countries to conclude major investment deals.

CEO of Select Property Group Adam Price told Asharq Al-Awsat that the event facilitated communication opportunities with new partners and investors in the Kingdom and provided valuable insights into the local real estate market.

He stated that Saudis represented 30 percent of the total investors in One Port Street, the latest project by Select Property in the city of Manchester, United Kingdom.

He added that cooperation with Saudi real estate development companies will give his company the opportunity to benefit from their valuable expertise and to learn about emerging consumer trends and market dynamics.

He revealed the company’s ambitions to take part in Saudi projects, especially as the Kingdom has become the largest construction market in the Middle East.

Price emphasized that Riyadh was ready to transform into a global investment hub, making it one of the most prominent real estate destinations. He added that the Saudi real estate sector was about to witness a significant transformation.

CEO of Thabat Almaskan Company Yousef Al-Saleh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the real estate sector constituted a large part of the Vision 2030 programs and initiatives, pointing out the importance of the exhibition in building partnerships and alliances with foreign establishments.

Meanwhile, the Royal Commission for the Holy City of Makkah and the Holy Sites signed an agreement to launch a real estate fund worth SAR 11 billion ($2.93 billion) to develop Al-Kidwa area, located south of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

According to a press statement, the fund has been launched in partnership with Thakher Development Co. and Albilad Capital. It will develop 2,614 properties in Al-Kidwa, spanning an area of 686,056 square meters.

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US Energy Firms’ Deals with Iraqi Kurdistan ‘Null and Void’, Baghdad Says 

This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 
This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 
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US Energy Firms’ Deals with Iraqi Kurdistan ‘Null and Void’, Baghdad Says 

This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 
This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 

Iraqi Kurdistan announced deals worth $110 billion over their lifetime with US firms HKN Energy and WesternZagros on Tuesday, drawing swift opposition from Baghdad's oil ministry which deemed them "null and void".

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced the deals in a speech in Washington, a day after they were flagged by an adviser on social media.

"The regional government is fully committed to developing the energy sector, especially as our reforms represent a significant step towards securing round-the-clock electricity supplies for all residents ...We also hope to contribute to providing electricity to other areas in Iraq," Barzani said, according to a statement released by the Kurdistan government.

The deals involve the development of the Miran and Topkhana-Kurdamir gas fields in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah.

"These contracts are null and void. Natural resources belong to all Iraqis, and any agreement to invest in them must be made through the federal government, not in defiance of the law and the constitution," Iraq's oil ministry said.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources issued a statement in response to the Iraqi oil ministry asserting its right and authority to sign energy deals.

"These deals are based on contracts signed many years ago, which have also been upheld as legal and valid by Iraqi courts... The recent change has been in the operating companies, in accordance with the legal and contractual framework of the existing agreements," it said.

An oil ministry official said agreement signings in Washington were conducted without Baghdad's previous knowledge.

"Signing energy agreements without consulting with the central government will further complicate relations between Baghdad and Erbil and will impact efforts to resume the export of Kurdistan regional oil," said a senior oil ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Key to those exports is a pipeline running through Türkiye halted since March 2023 after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled Ankara violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating Kurdish exports without Baghdad's consent.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.

Foreign energy companies have demanded clarification on repayment of debts accumulated between 2022 and 2023 and have and have sought contract guarantees, according to Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish officials.