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First Female Real Estate Office Opens In Saudi Arabia

Saudi businesswoman Amjad Bint Ibrahim Al-Hajji at her office in Riyadh. On the left, photo of eal estate investor Yehya bin Abdullah Al-Jarifani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi businesswoman Amjad Bint Ibrahim Al-Hajji at her office in Riyadh. On the left, photo of eal estate investor Yehya bin Abdullah Al-Jarifani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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First Female Real Estate Office Opens In Saudi Arabia

Saudi businesswoman Amjad Bint Ibrahim Al-Hajji at her office in Riyadh. On the left, photo of eal estate investor Yehya bin Abdullah Al-Jarifani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi businesswoman Amjad Bint Ibrahim Al-Hajji at her office in Riyadh. On the left, photo of eal estate investor Yehya bin Abdullah Al-Jarifani (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The first female real estate office was inaugurated on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, reflecting the Saudi leadership’s endeavor to empower Saudi women in line with Vision 2030.

Saudi businesswoman Amjad Bint Ibrahim Al-Hajji has recently entered the real estate sector, registering her name as the first woman to own a real estate office thanks to a long experience in monitoring the sector and her participation in courses and trainings.

Amjad chose to engage in the real estate sector, taking advantage of the facilities provided by the state to women in Saudi Arabia to invest and work in various fields and activities, in addition to her personal experience as she accompanied her late father since her childhood in most of his real estate business.

“It is the happiest day of my life. The dream that haunted me from childhood has come true: To become a real estate investor like men,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

She continued: “My late father worked in buying and selling real estate in and around Riyadh, which gave birth to my passion to enter this large investment sector.”

Amjad stressed that her dream was fulfilled thanks to the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which allowed women to participate in development programs.

She recounted that on the day of the inauguration of the office, a large number of real estate investors visited her in Riyadh and expressed their willingness to cooperate with her, by asking her to market their real estate projects.

“This approval for the engagement of women into this sector is receiving the blessing, acceptance and encouragement of the Saudi society,” the businesswoman emphasized.

Amjad said that she had enrolled in training courses offered by real estate investor Yehya bin Abdullah Al-Jarifani.

He launched initiatives to empower youth of both genders, qualify them, and spread knowledge and training needs to allow them to enter the labor market through the real estate sector.

The initiatives that kicked off years ago started with employing and training many female and male university students in his small real estate office in Riyadh, which today has turned into a major company.

Over the past years, Al-Jarifani has allowed dozens of students of both genders to work on the hour system, at wages of up to one thousand riyals per month.

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Argentina Seals $20 Billion IMF Deal, Tears Down Currency Controls

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva and Argentina's President Javier Milei talk ahead of a session on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy, Africa and Mediterranean on the second day of the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, June 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva and Argentina's President Javier Milei talk ahead of a session on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy, Africa and Mediterranean on the second day of the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, June 14, 2024. (Reuters)
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Argentina Seals $20 Billion IMF Deal, Tears Down Currency Controls

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva and Argentina's President Javier Milei talk ahead of a session on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy, Africa and Mediterranean on the second day of the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, June 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva and Argentina's President Javier Milei talk ahead of a session on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy, Africa and Mediterranean on the second day of the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, June 14, 2024. (Reuters)

Argentina sealed a $20 billion, 48-month Extended Fund Facility deal with the International Monetary Fund on Friday and, in a major policy move ahead of the deal, dismantled key parts of its years-long currency controls and loosened its grip on the peso.

The IMF will disburse $12 billion by next Tuesday, while another $2 billion will become available by June.

The deal is expected to help Argentina "catalyze additional official multilateral and bilateral support, and a timely re-access to international capital markets," the IMF said.

"Key pillars of the program include maintaining a strong fiscal anchor, transitioning towards a more robust monetary and FX regime, with greater exchange rate flexibility," it added in a statement.

Earlier, the South American nation's central bank announced it would undo a fixed currency peg from Monday, letting the peso freely fluctuate within a moving band between 1,000 and 1,400 pesos per dollar, versus 1,074 at the close on Friday.

Argentina will eliminate major parts of the so-called "cepo" capital controls that have restricted access to foreign currency, the central bank said in a statement.

Companies, from this year, will also be able to repatriate profits out of the country, a key demand from businesses that could unlock more investment.

"As of Monday, we will be able to put an end to the foreign exchange restrictions which were imposed in 2019 and which limit the normal functioning of the economy," Economy Ministry Luis Caputo said at a press conference.

Libertarian President Javier Milei addressed the nation in a televised speech on Friday night and stated that Argentina was "in a better position than ever to withstand external turbulences."

However, an IMF staff report on the $20 billion deal warned that "downside risks remain elevated," as program implementation could be challenged by rising global trade tensions and, domestically, by the volatility added by the upcoming electoral cycle and fragile social conditions.

'THIS IS A DEVALUATION'

The new exchange rate system could allow the peso to weaken almost a third if the currency were to hit the weaker edge of the band, although the central bank is likely to have some tools to intervene. The band will expand 1% each month, the bank said.

The policy move came ahead of the final IMF nod for what is the 23rd program in a long and mottled history between the grains-producing nation and the Washington-based lender.

Funds from the IMF deal will be used to recapitalize Argentina's central bank and the government expects they will help usher in a healthier currency, reduce inflation and allow for tax cuts, Caputo said.

Other multi-year disbursements were also announced, including $12 billion from the World Bank and $10 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank.

Argentina needs the financial firepower to bolster depleted foreign currency reserves that are in the red on a net basis and have been falling in recent weeks, amid sticky inflation and a country risk index that has started to rise again.

The funds are also key to unlocking the currency controls, which will likely prompt a period of local market volatility already stirred up by the international tariff war between the United States and its trade partners.

"This is a devaluation, which rather goes against what the government would have intended to calmly get to elections," said economist Ricardo Delgado, referring to midterm legislative elections later in the year.

"It's a bit surprising that at this time of global volatility, the controls are being lifted," he added.