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Saudi Arabia, Qatar Review Strategy for Joint Business Council

The Saudi-Qatari Business Council meeting at the Federation of Saudi Chambers (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi-Qatari Business Council meeting at the Federation of Saudi Chambers (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia, Qatar Review Strategy for Joint Business Council

The Saudi-Qatari Business Council meeting at the Federation of Saudi Chambers (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi-Qatari Business Council meeting at the Federation of Saudi Chambers (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih held talks at the Federation of Saudi Chambers headquarters with the chairman and members of the Saudi-Qatari Business Council. This comes as Saudi Arabia and Qatar are preparing a joint strategy for business in the private sector in the two countries.

The meeting addressed the role and agenda of the council in enhancing the economic relations between the Kingdom and Qatar.

The Saudi Minister underscored the role of the Saudi-Qatari relations at the highest levels, stating that Saudi Arabia represents an economic, strategic depth for Qatar, while Doha represents significant economic importance for the Kingdom.

He stressed the importance of continuing efforts and communication to open more opportunities for the business sectors in both countries and enhance joint trade and investment.

Falih praised the role of the Ministry of Investment as a supporter and enabler of Saudi investment abroad, stressing that the Saudi-Qatari Business Council is one of the important councils.

Saudi Arabia is keen to support it in a way that upgrades the economic ties between the two countries to the highest levels, asserted the Minister.

During the meeting, Falih was briefed on the plans, goals, initiatives, and projects of the council in strengthening economic relations between the two countries.

The Chairman of the Council, Hamad al-Shuwaier, said that the council wants to draft a study analyzing the economic development witnessed by the Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Shuwaier announced that the trade exchange amounted to $213.8 million in the first half of 2022, noting that the council plans to forge innovative programs and initiatives to increase investment, provide qualitative partnerships and enhance economic integration.

The meeting recommended holding a Saudi-Qatari investment forum to showcase the available opportunities and continue the efforts leading to a smooth trade and export flow between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund launched its first sustainability report: "Enabling Sustainable Industrial Growth in Saudi Arabia."

The report aims to clarify the efforts and practices of the Fund and review examples of the clients' application concerning environmental sustainability, societal impact, and corporate governance, which would positively reflect on the future development of the industrial, mining, energy, and logistics sectors in the Kingdom.

The report reviewed environmental sustainability, such as climate change and emissions reduction, efficient use of energy, rational use of water resources, and others.

The report reveals the Fund's commitment to it since its establishment.

It also clarifies the Fund's practices that seek to enhance societal impact through positive influence through internal and external policies and procedures, which would contribute to supporting and maximizing the potential of the Saudi society through educational and career opportunities in pursuit of national goals.

The report also refers to the Fund's journey towards the governance of its business supported by corporate governance and responsible management, designed to ensure sustainable growth in the Fund and the targeted sectors.

The Fund issued this report knowing the great importance of these statements in creating the principles of sustainable development in response to the needs of all actors in the local industry and Saudi society in the Kingdom.

The Industrial Development Fund is a member of the Sustainability Council established by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in 2021. It provides a unified platform for consultation on sustainability issues that positively impact the industrial sectors and the local community.

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Business

Gov’t Action Cools Saudi Property Prices, Inflation Turns Negative

A National Housing Company project in Jeddah (Company handout)
A National Housing Company project in Jeddah (Company handout)
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Gov’t Action Cools Saudi Property Prices, Inflation Turns Negative

A National Housing Company project in Jeddah (Company handout)
A National Housing Company project in Jeddah (Company handout)

Saudi Arabia’s real estate market is showing clear signs that inflationary pressures are easing, after a package of government measures aimed at increasing supply, curbing land hoarding and rebalancing supply and demand.

The shift reflects the Kingdom’s efforts to reshape the real estate sector and strengthen its stability under Vision 2030.

After uneven price increases following the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate inflation in Saudi Arabia fell to negative 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025 from 3.6% a year earlier, according to the annual Vision 2030 report. The decline was supported by government measures aimed at improving market efficiency.

The trend continued in the first quarter of this year. The latest data from the General Authority for Statistics showed the real estate price index fell 1.6% year on year, driven by a 3.6% decline in residential prices. Commercial real estate prices, however, rose 3.4%.

Structural reforms restore balance

The price correction came alongside a series of government interventions aimed at addressing market imbalances, especially limited supply and speculation. In a major move to cool prices in the capital, the government allowed sale, purchase and development in four areas north of Riyadh covering more than 81 square kilometers.

The plan aims to provide citizens with up to 40,000 land plots a year over the next five years, at target prices of no more than 1,500 riyals per square meter.

Khaled Al-Mobid, chief executive of Menassat Realty Co., told Asharq Al-Awsat that the latest reforms had moved the market away from rapid and disorderly price growth toward a more balanced and sustainable phase.

He said increased supply, rent regulation and limits on unproductive landholding had begun to affect market behavior, especially in cities with strong demand. Fees on vacant land and properties, he added, had pushed inactive owners to develop, sell or lease their assets, helping curb speculation and improve the use of real estate assets.

Real estate expert Ahmed Faqih told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government decisions came “in the form of carefully studied doses of treatment” after a deep assessment of the market’s components.

He said housing carries the greatest weight in the inflation index, meaning that cooling the sector feeds directly into broader inflation levels. He expected the impact of the decisions to become clearer over the next 12 to 18 months, adding that this had already begun through the curbing of unreal demand and the increase in actual supply.

Pressure tightens on white land

At the same time, the government stepped up measures against undeveloped land by raising annual fees on white land to 10% from 2.5%.

Vacant properties were also included for the first time in the fee system, covering land and buildings of more than 5,000 square meters. The aim is to reduce the appeal of hoarding and push more units into the market.

Faqih said speculation had been concentrated mainly in land within peripheral development plans, especially in Riyadh. Raising white land fees, along with clear government signals that land was no longer a tool for speculation but for development, marked a turning point in the behavior of investors and speculators, he said.

He added that fees on vacant properties would also help curb speculation in residential products, especially apartments, by encouraging owners to use idle assets rather than keeping them off the market.

In another step to regulate transactions, the real estate market began responding to the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing’s official approval of executive regulations for annual fees on vacant properties.

The regulations allow fees of up to 5% of the value of an unused building within the approved urban boundary. The measure is designed to improve the use of real estate assets and stimulate supply growth inside cities.

Rent freeze

Regulatory policies also extended to the rental market. The Saudi Cabinet approved a five-year freeze on annual rent increases within Riyadh, covering both existing and new contracts, to support stability in the residential and commercial markets.

Al-Mobid said the decision changed investor behavior by shifting attention toward development, operation and sustainable returns rather than waiting for artificial price increases.

He said the rent freeze in Riyadh sent a clear message that the market was moving toward controlling inflation and achieving a better balance between landlords and tenants.

Faqih said the latest regulatory decisions would lead developers and investors to reposition themselves in the market by directing investment toward increasing supply and using the opportunities created by the current regulatory changes.

On the regulatory and digital fronts, the market has made tangible gains in infrastructure. Units listed in the real estate registry exceeded 4 million properties by the end of 2025, while more than 1.2 million upgraded real estate deeds were issued.

More than 3.2 million lease contracts were documented through the Ejar platform, and the number of licensed brokers rose to more than 106,000.

Al-Mobid said the figures reflected a sharp improvement in transparency and a decline in individual discretion because of clearer data. Faqih said Saudi Arabia’s rise of 11 places in international real estate transparency indicators strengthened the sector’s ability to attract foreign capital.

Supply steers the market

On the financing side, the 2025 Vision 2030 report showed continued growth in the individual real estate finance portfolio. Total outstanding individual real estate loans rose to 904 billion riyals, or $241.1 billion, by the end of 2025, from about 420 billion riyals, or $112 billion, in 2020.

Despite the sharp increase in financing, Al-Mobid said the market was no longer driven by financing alone. It had become more influenced by supply, regulations and product quality, he said. That helps explain why residential prices declined even as lending expanded.

Faqih agreed, saying financing had previously pushed up prices because buyers had limited options. The current increase in supply, he said, had helped create a more balanced and fair relationship between supply and demand.

Stable outlook and international appeal

These broad structural shifts helped raise the number of Saudi families who owned their homes to more than 851,000 by the end of 2025, from about 63,000 in 2019.

Looking ahead, Al-Mobid expected the Saudi real estate market to enter a phase of long-term stability based on maturity and data, rather than a temporary correction. He also said values could continue to decline for products whose prices had exceeded fair levels.

Faqih said the new system had created an “innovative investment map” in which real estate investment tools had changed radically, positioning the Saudi market as one of the leading regional and international destinations for sustainable strategic investment.

Business

Kremlin: Saudi Arabia Named Guest of Honor at St. Petersburg Economic Forum

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a plenary session of last year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a plenary session of last year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Reuters)
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Kremlin: Saudi Arabia Named Guest of Honor at St. Petersburg Economic Forum

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a plenary session of last year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a plenary session of last year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Reuters)

The Kremlin said Saudi Arabia will be featured as the “guest of honor” at the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, SPIEF, in 2026, which opens this week.

The Russian presidency said Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman will lead a high-level delegation of major national institutions and companies, headed by Saudi Aramco.

The announcement coincided with talks in Moscow between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Lavrov said Saudi Arabia’s selection as the guest country for 2026 carried major historical symbolism, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

He praised Saudi Arabia’s strong participation in the 2025 forum, also led by Prince Abdulaziz, which included productive talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

Through its national pavilion, the Kingdom will showcase its investment, export, and tourism potential, hold business talks, and present a rich cultural program.

Anton Kobyakov, an adviser to the Russian president, said the participation would inject new momentum into the strategic partnership between Moscow and Riyadh across energy, industry, transport, finance, and high technology.

Saudi Arabia now joins other Global South countries that have previously received the honorary status, including Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Bahrain.

Founded in 1997, the St. Petersburg forum is Russia’s leading annual economic conference.

It brings together heads of state, finance ministers, and chief executives from Russian and international companies to discuss challenges facing emerging markets and the global economy.

The forum draws more than 10,000 participants each year from about 100 countries. In 2025, it posted a record turnout of 24,200 participants from 144 countries and saw agreements worth 6.48 trillion rubles ($89 billion) signed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has regularly attended the forum’s plenary sessions since 2005, except from 2008 to 2011, when Dmitry Medvedev attended.

This year’s list of official partners and sponsors includes more than 100 major companies and institutions, led by key partners Rosatom and VEB.RF, along with banking and energy players, including Sberbank, Gazprom, and Novatek.

Business

Is the $1.8 Trillion Private Credit Market Headed for a ‘Credit Winter’?

Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, US, October 26, 2020. (Reuters)
Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, US, October 26, 2020. (Reuters)
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Is the $1.8 Trillion Private Credit Market Headed for a ‘Credit Winter’?

Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, US, October 26, 2020. (Reuters)
Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, US, October 26, 2020. (Reuters)

Could private credit become the next global financial crisis? The question is gaining urgency across financial and regulatory circles after years of explosive growth in lending outside the traditional banking system created a market worth more than $1.8 trillion, much of it operating beyond close regulatory scrutiny.

The concerns sharpened after JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that losses in the sector could exceed expectations once the credit cycle turns, citing deteriorating lending standards and rising leverage.

Regulators are beginning to respond. The Financial Stability Board, which includes G20 central bank governors and finance ministers, has urged national regulators to tighten oversight of private credit markets. At the same time, the European Central Bank identified private credit as one of the leading threats to financial stability alongside elevated asset valuations.

In its Financial Stability Review released in late May, the ECB highlighted two major vulnerabilities within the sector. The first was what it described as a “snowball effect,” with some funds struggling to liquidate assets while facing rising redemption requests from investors, increasing the risk of distressed sales.

The second was the rise of “double leverage,” as private credit funds increasingly borrow from traditional banks to finance their own lending activity, creating deeper links between banks and nonbank lenders.

Mohammed Farraj, senior executive for asset management at Arbah Capital, explained that the sector’s rapid expansion was rooted in structural shifts that followed the 2008 global financial crisis. As banks pulled back from lending to small and medium-sized companies under stricter Basel III capital and liquidity regulation, private credit funds moved in to fill the financing gap.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive officer (CEO) of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) speaks to the Economic Club of New York in Manhattan in New York City, US, April 23, 2024. (Reuters)

“Their flexibility and ability to move quickly outside conventional banking restrictions allowed them to capture significant market share,” Farraj told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Private credit refers to direct lending to companies through nonbank financial institutions without using banks or public debt markets. Unlike traditional banks, which rely on short-term deposits and operate under strict liquidity requirements, private credit funds are financed by long-term institutional capital from pension funds, insurers, and sovereign wealth funds.

The sector encompasses a wide range of financing tools, including direct lending, mezzanine financing, distressed debt investing, startup financing, and asset-backed lending tied to real estate, equipment, or intellectual property.

Years of ultra-low interest rates after 2008 accelerated institutional demand for private credit as investors searched for higher yields. More recently, higher global interest rates have made the sector even more attractive because many private credit loans carry floating rates that rise automatically with central bank tightening.

Farraj argued that the current environment offers annual returns ranging from 10 percent to 15 percent, well above those available in traditional fixed-income markets.

The company logo and trading information for BlackRock is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, March 30, 2017. (Reuters)

However, he cautioned that higher borrowing costs are also placing growing pressure on heavily indebted companies, increasing the risk of defaults, particularly among businesses with fragile balance sheets.

Transparency remains one of the sector’s biggest weaknesses. Private credit assets are not priced daily in public markets but are instead valued periodically using internal models, potentially delaying the recognition of losses and creating a misleading impression of stability.

Concerns intensified earlier this year after a BlackRock private credit fund cut its net asset value by nearly 19 percent because of deteriorating technology-sector loans, prompting closer scrutiny from US regulators.

Despite mounting concerns, Farraj maintained that private credit differs fundamentally from the 2008 mortgage crisis because losses are concentrated among sophisticated institutional investors rather than bank depositors.

Still, he warned that hidden systemic risks could emerge through the growing ties between banks and private credit funds.

He expected the sector to surpass $3 trillion in the coming years, driven by institutional demand and the expanding use of artificial intelligence in credit analysis and risk assessment.