GCC Increases Focus on Affordable Housing

Clouds move over the Riyadh skyline November 17, 2013. (File Photo: Reuters)
Clouds move over the Riyadh skyline November 17, 2013. (File Photo: Reuters)
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GCC Increases Focus on Affordable Housing

Clouds move over the Riyadh skyline November 17, 2013. (File Photo: Reuters)
Clouds move over the Riyadh skyline November 17, 2013. (File Photo: Reuters)

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are doubling their efforts to further enhance low- and middle-income households’ ability to own affordable housing, as part of government efforts to address rapid urbanization and population growth.

A new report titled “New Trends in Affordable Housing in GCC”, released by Orient Planet Research of Orient Planet Group, discussed the latest trends and achievements of Gulf countries in narrowing down the demand-supply gap in the housing sector.

The region’s growing population is among the key drivers for rising demand, with young workers, whether citizens or residents, taking interest to acquire homes within their income reach.

The population increased by more than 50 percent over the last decade as shown by the figures released by “The Economist”. It is expected to reach 53 million in 2020, thereby putting an even greater pressure on the low-end segment of the housing sector.

Managing Director of Orient Planet Group Nidal Abou Zaki indicated a significant shift in affordable housing in the GCC.

He noted that governments and private developers are increasingly recognizing the demand for affordable housing in the region and various policies and schemes have been established to achieve this goal.

“However, there remains a need for identifying the market segment in terms of income class to enable developers to create value products and meet target markets.”

The report underscores the need to follow a comprehensive methodology in order to build better communities in the Gulf.

For instance, UAE’s housing policy has traditionally been focused on providing housing benefits and facilities to low income citizens through the federal and local governments.

The country’s “Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme” established in 1999, has an existing budget allocation of $1.36 billion to assist the housing needs of citizens, especially orphans, widows, aged citizens and people with determination.

Other GCC states are also taking bold moves such as Saudi Arabia with plans to construct one million housing units on top of the existing ones in line with Vision 2030.

Kuwait allocated more funds for the construction of an additional 45,000 housing units as part of its five-year plan which aims to fix the housing problem in the next three to five years.

Similarly, Oman has allocated OMR90 million for its housing projects as stated in the budget of fiscal year 2019.

Meanwhile, Bahrain widely invests in various social housing schemes, and has provided more than 36,000 support services to citizens through houses and flats, housing loans, and flats in subsidized rental and residential plots.

The report explains that in order to improve the gap in the market, housing experts note the importance of reinforcing public-private partnerships, focusing on resolving lack of credit and mortgage facilities, and initiating more social housing finance schemes.

In addition to the allocation of funds, Orient Planet points that the focus can also be on project management, proper framing of eligibility criteria, protection of housing standards, and partnerships with private agencies for efficient maintenance of public housing communities.



China's Xi Holds Rare Meeting with Business Leaders amid Slowing Economy, US Tensions

01 February 2025, Indonesia, Bandung: In this photo illustration, China Artificial Intelligence Deepseek Website and logo is displayed on a smartphone with Flag Of China in the background. Photo: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
01 February 2025, Indonesia, Bandung: In this photo illustration, China Artificial Intelligence Deepseek Website and logo is displayed on a smartphone with Flag Of China in the background. Photo: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
TT

China's Xi Holds Rare Meeting with Business Leaders amid Slowing Economy, US Tensions

01 February 2025, Indonesia, Bandung: In this photo illustration, China Artificial Intelligence Deepseek Website and logo is displayed on a smartphone with Flag Of China in the background. Photo: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
01 February 2025, Indonesia, Bandung: In this photo illustration, China Artificial Intelligence Deepseek Website and logo is displayed on a smartphone with Flag Of China in the background. Photo: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a rare meeting on Monday with some of the biggest names in China's technology sector, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma, in what sources previously billed as an effort to boost private-business sentiment.

The meeting highlights a turnaround in Beijing's approach to its tech giants after a regulatory clampdown a few years ago, as well as more recent concerns about a slowdown in economic growth and efforts by the US to stunt its technological development, Reuters reported.

Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, a startup that is threatening to upset the technology world order with its AI models, also attended, two sources familiar with the meeting said.
Liang was not pictured in CCTV's video, and DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Other private business leaders who attended the symposium included Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, Xiaomi's Lei Jun, BYD's Wang Chuanfu, Unitree's Wang Xingxing, and CATL's Robin Zeng, a video published by CCTV showed.
The meeting was also attended by Meituan's Wang Xing, China Feihe's Leng Youbin and Will Semiconductor founder Yu Renrong, the video showed.
Tencent's Pony Ma was there too, a source familiar with the matter said, declining to be named as the meeting details were not public. Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Xi delivered a speech after listening to representatives of private companies, official news agency Xinhua said. The report did not provide any details about the symposium, held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources, Xi planned to chair a symposium to boost private sector sentiment on Monday that would be attended by the country's business leaders, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma.
The symposium would be aimed at boosting private-sector sentiment, and Xi was expected to encourage company chiefs to expand their businesses domestically and internationally amid an intensifying China-US technology war, the sources had said.
Investors on Monday were scouring pictures and footage of the meeting to spot top bosses and trading accordingly, with Baidu shares down more than 8% - the largest loser on the Hang Seng index - after no top executive was spotted.
Founders of Baidu and Bytedance were among the prominent private business leaders in China who did not attend the meeting, two sources familiar with the matter. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment.
The presence of top executives and companies at these high-profile events are typically seen by foreign investors as a sign of the businesses or individuals that are favored by the government.
ACHIEVING SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The meeting took place against the backdrop of US tariffs threatening to pile more pressure on the world's second-largest economy, which has been reeling from weak domestic consumption and a destabilizing debt crisis in the property sector.
The private business sector contributes more than 50% to China’s tax revenue, more than 60% of its economic output, 70% of tech innovation and 80% of urban employment, according to official estimates.
The meeting also comes as global excitement over DeepSeek's AI platform has spilled over into investor speculation about its potential positive effects on China's broader tech sector, and has triggered calls for an upward repricing of Chinese assets.
Xi has long stressed the need for China to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductors and wants the country to use AI to drive economic development.
But China's efforts have been hampered by export control measures on chips imposed by Washington which is worried Beijing could use advanced semiconductors to boost its military capabilities.
"It's a tacit acknowledgement that the Chinese government needs private-sector firms for its tech rivalry with the US," said Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics in Hong Kong.
"The government has no choice but to support them if it wants to compete with the US."
'POTENTIAL RISKS'
Tech shares in Hong Kong have roared higher in recent weeks on a combination of optimism about the DeepSeek AI breakthrough and a thawing of authorities' approach to internet giants.
The Hang Seng technology index hit a three-year high in morning trade on Monday, having rallied on Friday after Reuters reported Xi was to chair Monday's symposium. It slipped in volatile afternoon trade and was last down 1.3%.
Xi first chaired a high-profile symposium for the private sector in 2018, six years after he came to power. At the time, he pledged tax cuts and a level playing field while reaffirming that private firms would have access to financial backing.
"Despite the rising opportunities in the case of DeepSeek, it is also about guiding the private sector in the government-led direction and containing the potential risks to compete with the US," said Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis.
"Still, the regulatory environment is the black box. As most AI development happens in the private sector, we cannot entirely rule out the outcome of a tighter-than-market-expected regulatory environment than we see now."
Attendance by Jack Ma, in particular, has the potential to boost business confidence, analysts have said.
The once high-profile entrepreneur largely withdrew from public life after the IPO of his fintech company Ant was halted by authorities in 2020 – a move triggered by a speech he gave that year criticizing China's regulatory system.
His business empire and the wider technology industry were then targeted by a regulatory crackdown, with his time out of the limelight symbolizing a reversal of fortunes for China's private sector.