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Red Sea Global Secures Financial Close on $522 Million Debt Financing with Riyad Bank

RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA
RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA
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Red Sea Global Secures Financial Close on $522 Million Debt Financing with Riyad Bank

RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA
RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA

Red Sea Global (RSG) said on Sunday that it has completed a SAR2 billion ($522 million) financing agreement with Riyad Bank.

According to a statement, the financing supports RSG's Joint Venture (JV) with Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), a prominent global investment company headquartered in Saudi Arabia, for the development of the highly anticipated Four Seasons Resort at The Red Sea destination.

"The Kingdom's tourism potential is truly limitless, and with our first two hotels now open, we are at the vanguard of putting Saudi Arabia on the global tourism map. Riyad Bank has been with us since our first debt financing deal in 2021, and we're honored to have them partner with us once again,” said RSG CEO John Pagano.

He also said that the Four Seasons Resort, situated on Shura Island, is set to be a luxury property offering 159 exquisite guest rooms, adding that Shura Island is part of the first phase of development, which will include 11 luxury, premium, and lifestyle hotels and resorts, residential units, a championship golf course, a 118-berth marina, and a comprehensive retail, dining, and entertainment complex.

"RSG has an incredible responsibility to be an enabler of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and added to this, it set its own incomparable ambitions to deliver development in a way that is responsible and regenerative,” said Riyad Bank CEO Nadir Al-Koraya.

“We believed in the vision its leadership presented back then at our first encounter, and last year, when The Red Sea welcomed its first guests, our faith was shown to be well-founded. We're privileged to once again have the opportunity to support one of the world's most ambitious developers."

In 2023, The Red Sea welcomed its first guests, and now two of its hotels are open. The Red Sea International Airport (RSI) has been receiving a regular schedule of flights since September 2023. Desert Rock and Shebara will welcome their first guests later this year, while Shura Island is on track to welcome guests in 2025.

Upon full completion in 2030, the destination will comprise 50 resorts, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites. The destination will also include luxury marinas, golf courses, entertainment, and leisure facilities.

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Davos to Welcome Trump Virtually as World Leaders Await New US President’s Policies

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
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Davos to Welcome Trump Virtually as World Leaders Await New US President’s Policies

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. (AFP)

Donald Trump will mark his return to the global stage with a virtual World Economic Forum appearance in Davos next week, as world leaders await details of the incoming US President's policies and his pledge to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump is due to return to the White House on Jan. 20, with his inauguration for a second term as US President coinciding with the start of the 55th annual WEF meeting of political and business leaders in the Swiss mountain resort.

Meanwhile, another key player in any attempt to bring peace to Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will make a special address and take questions, the WEF meeting organizers said on Tuesday.

Among the other global leaders due to attend the meeting, which will include 60 heads of state and government, are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and China's vice premier Ding Xuexiang, WEF President and CEO Borge Brende said during a press conference.

Brende said Trump, who has twice previously attended Davos, will join "digitally" on Jan. 23, without giving further details. He said it would be a "very special moment" to learn about the new Trump administration's policy priorities.

"There is a lot of interest to decipher and to understand the policies of the new administration, so it will be an interesting week," Brende said.

Topics on the Davos agenda range from mounting global geopolitical and economic uncertainty to trade tensions, climate goals and how AI can help make lives better.

Business leaders have become more optimistic about the economy given Trump's pledges to reduce regulation, potentially cut taxes and ease restrictions on activities including mergers and acquisitions, Rich Lesser, global chair of Boston Consulting Group, told Reuters ahead of the meeting.

Lesser said, however, that underlying optimism is being offset by concerns about tariffs, deportations, a widening budget deficit and the US relationship with China.

MIDDLE EAST

This year's meeting in Davos is taking place against "the most complicated geopolitical backdrop in generations," Brende said, adding that the forum will have a strong focus on Middle East geopolitics, including high-level diplomatic talks.

Delegates will discuss developments in Syria and the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Yemen alongside other topics.

Participants will include Qatar's Prime Minister, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Syria's foreign minister, the UN special envoy on Syria, the Iranian Vice President, Israel's President and the Palestinian Prime Minister.

"There will be a hard work at the situation in Syria, the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza ... the potential escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. We were very close to it between Israel and Iran, and I don't think we're out of the woods yet," Brende said.

CLIMATE

The WEF will this week release an analysis looking at companies that account for two-thirds of global market capitalization, which will show that only about 10% are taking meaningful and tangible action on the climate and nature agenda.

Business and political leaders gathering in Davos from Jan. 20 to Jan. 24 are also due to discuss how to ensure energy remains affordable, secure and green and the challenges preventing acceleration of efforts towards energy transition.

"We’re in a really challenging moment for climate, where countries are asking if other nations are doing their share," said Boston Consulting Group's Lesser.