Saudi Housing Minister Meets Egyptian Real Estate Developers

The Egyptian Minister of Housing and his Saudi counterpart, with the head of the Talaat Moustafa group. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Egyptian Minister of Housing and his Saudi counterpart, with the head of the Talaat Moustafa group. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Housing Minister Meets Egyptian Real Estate Developers

The Egyptian Minister of Housing and his Saudi counterpart, with the head of the Talaat Moustafa group. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Egyptian Minister of Housing and his Saudi counterpart, with the head of the Talaat Moustafa group. (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Egyptian-African Businessmen Association (EABA) organized an intensive meeting on Saturday in Cairo to discuss opportunities for real estate development in the Kingdom.

The meeting was attended by Majid Al-Hogail, Saudi Minister of Housing, Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, and Engineer Mohamed Albuty, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Housing Company, along with the EABA Construction and Building Committee, headed by Engineer Mahmoud Hegazy and a group of senior Egyptian real estate developers.

The Saudi side gave a detailed presentation of the Kingdom’s achievements over the past six years in the housing sector, emphasizing the role of the National Housing Company in this regard.

“All of this contributed to the growth of the volume of financing for real estate projects from 30 billion riyals to nearly 380 billion riyals during the last 5 years,” Al-Hogail said, pointing to the increasing demand on the integrated housing system implemented by Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi minister affirmed his full support for Egyptian real estate developers’ endeavor to work within the Kingdom, saying that Saudi Arabia was “proud of the Egyptian expertise and ready to strengthen cooperation in this field.”

For his part, Dr. Yousri El-Sharqawy, head of the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association, stressed that the Kingdom has provided a pioneering model in real estate development.

He added that the EABA was looking forward to establishing joint investments between the private sector and real estate developers under the auspices of the two countries’ leaderships.

On Friday, Eng. Hisham Talaat Moustafa, CEO and Managing Director of Talaat Moustafa Group, received the Saudi minister and his Egyptian counterpart, and the accompanying Saudi delegation, on a tour inside the city of Madinaty in New Cairo.



Saudi PIF Invests $200 Million in ETF Bond Fund

The fund is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia to focus on fixed-income exchange-traded funds (ETFs). (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The fund is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia to focus on fixed-income exchange-traded funds (ETFs). (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi PIF Invests $200 Million in ETF Bond Fund

The fund is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia to focus on fixed-income exchange-traded funds (ETFs). (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The fund is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia to focus on fixed-income exchange-traded funds (ETFs). (Asharq Al-Awsat)

State Street Global Advisors, a subsidiary of State Street Corporation, announced that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has invested SAR 750 million ($200 million) in the newly launched SPDR J.P. Morgan Saudi Aggregate Bond ETF.

According to a statement released by the company on Wednesday, this fund is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia to focus on fixed-income exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It is listed in both the London Stock Exchange and Germany’s Xetra, offering investors the opportunity to track government and quasi-government bonds denominated in either the Saudi Riyal or the US Dollar, including sukuk (Islamic bonds).

This investment aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, representing a significant step toward enhancing the international presence of Saudi Arabia’s financial markets and attracting foreign investments. The fund is available to investors across several European countries, including Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, and Italy.

Commenting on the investment, Yazid Al-Humaid, Deputy Governor and Head of MENA Investments at PIF, said: “The fund continues to create opportunities and enable access to diverse capital markets in the Kingdom. Investing in the first internationally listed Saudi fixed-income ETF underscores PIF’s commitment to deepening Saudi capital markets, attracting investors, and fostering partnerships across global financial centers.”

CEO of State Street Global Advisors Yi-Hsin Hung emphasized that the launch of the fund is a significant milestone in providing innovative opportunities for investors while contributing to Saudi Arabia’s economic growth.