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Riyadh Real Estate Sector Contributes 13% to GDP

Visitors at the Cityscape Global Exhibition. (SPA)
Visitors at the Cityscape Global Exhibition. (SPA)
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Riyadh Real Estate Sector Contributes 13% to GDP

Visitors at the Cityscape Global Exhibition. (SPA)
Visitors at the Cityscape Global Exhibition. (SPA)

Real estate activities in Saudi Arabia have contributed 12.8 percent of the non-oil GDP in the third quarter of 2022, announced First Vice chairman of the Board of Directors for Riyadh chamber Mohammed al-Marshad.

Marshad highlighted the significance of the Cityscape Global exhibition that was held in Riyadh from September 10 to 13, saying it was one of the largest events focused on real estate investment and a premier venue for significant real estate deliberations.

The exhibition served as an avenue to enhance the investment climate in the real estate sector and a platform for property investors.

The event showcased recent developments and challenges through seminars and workshops, positively influencing the sector's appeal to local and international investors.

Marshad described the real estate sector in the Kingdom as a pivotal driver in diversifying the sources of the national economy and one of the primary contributors to the total GDP, linking to at least 120 varied industries.

Furthermore, Marshad stated that the Real Estate Committee in the Riyadh Chamber strives to refine and prepare the real estate sector to align with the Kingdom's vision through its strategic plan and in collaboration with relevant entities.

The Committee aims to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors, initiate programs to boost investment, improve the investment environment, and identify new investment opportunities specific to the industry.

Additionally, the Committee aims to bolster national capabilities, raise awareness about the economic and social significance of the real estate sector, participate actively in its legislative process, strengthen ties with real estate entities to improve the business environment, and promote the role of women as active participants in the sector.

The Cityscape Global exhibition is the world's largest real estate show, attended by over 170 countries and featuring exhibitors from 21 nations.

The event targets home buyers, investors, property developers, engineers, designers, real estate investment funds, insurance companies, and property owners.

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Colombia Joins Belt and Road Initiative as China Courts Latin America 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)
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Colombia Joins Belt and Road Initiative as China Courts Latin America 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 May 2025. (EPA /Xinhua / Huang Jingwen)

Colombia formally agreed on Wednesday to join China's vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, as Beijing draws Latin America closer in a bid to counter the United States.

Latin America has emerged as a key battleground in US President Donald Trump's confrontations with China, and the region is coming under pressure from Washington to choose a side.

China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru, Chile and other Latin American nations, and two-thirds of countries there have signed up to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's Belt and Road infrastructure drive.

On the sidelines of a major gathering of regional leaders in Beijing on Wednesday, Colombia became the latest country to join the massive global initiative.

Colombia's foreign ministry hailed the agreement as a "historic step that opens up new opportunities for investment, technological cooperation, and sustainable development for both countries".

And after a meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Xi urged the countries to take the opportunity of Colombia formally joining the "Belt and Road Initiative family" to enhance their cooperation, Beijing's state media said.

Posting a video of the signing to social media platform X, Petro wrote that "the history of our foreign relations is changing".

"From now on, Colombia will interact with the entire world on a footing of equality and freedom," he wrote.

The BRI is a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's economic and political clout overseas.

For more than a decade, it has provided investment for infrastructure and other large-scale projects around the world, offering Beijing political and economic leverage in return.

Last year, Xi inaugurated Latin America's first Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru -- a symbol of the Asian superpower's growing influence on the continent.

- 'Defenders of free trade' -

This week's China-CELAC Forum in Beijing has seen China cast itself as the defender of the multilateral order and the backer of the Global South, with Xi pledging on Monday $9.2 billion in credit towards development.

That pledge was part of a broad set of initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation, including on infrastructure and clean energy.

Beijing will also cooperate in counterterrorism and fighting transnational organized crime, Xi said, as well as enhancing exchanges such as scholarships and training programs.

During a meeting with Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Wednesday, Xi said that the "resurgence of unilateralism and protectionism is severely impacting the international economic and trade order," according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

"As staunch defenders of multilateralism and free trade, China and Chile should strengthen multilateral coordination and jointly safeguard the common interests of the Global South," Xi told Boric.

Also in attendance at the China-CELAC forum was Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived in Beijing on Saturday for a five-day state visit.

Addressing delegates, Lula said his region did not "want to repeat history and start a new Cold War", adding: "Our goal is to be an asset to the multilateral order for a global good".

In talks with Lula on Tuesday, Xi said the two countries should "strengthen cooperation" and together "oppose unilateralism", according to Chinese state media.

The United States and China have faced off in Latin America, including over the Panama Canal, which Trump has for months vowed to reclaim from alleged Chinese influence.

Washington considered a Hong Kong company's operation of ports at both ends of the interoceanic waterway to be a threat to its national security, but Beijing has dismissed the claims.

And China's market regulator is looking into a deal by Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison to offload 43 ports in 23 countries -- including its two on the Panama Canal -- to a US-led consortium.

The world's two largest economies are two of the top users of the canal, through which five percent of all global shipping passes.