Saudi Sakani Delivers Homes to Over 130,000 Families in 9 Months

Saudi Arabia continues to increase the homeownership rate through Sakani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia continues to increase the homeownership rate through Sakani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Sakani Delivers Homes to Over 130,000 Families in 9 Months

Saudi Arabia continues to increase the homeownership rate through Sakani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia continues to increase the homeownership rate through Sakani (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sakani, a Saudi program concerned with housing, has said that 130,400 Saudi families owned their first homes during the first nine months of 2022.

Sakani indicated that it comes within the framework of the program's endeavor to support beneficiaries to achieve the objectives of the housing program and increase the percentage of home ownership to 70 percent by 2030.

It explained that 12.1 thousand families benefited from the options and solutions it provided last September, while 12.9 thousand families received their first home in the same month.

Sakani offers nine new optional support programs within its solutions to Saudi families. The new packages included: the provided support package, the rental package, the furniture package, the self-construction package, and the housing renewal package.

The packages provide the beneficiary multiple flexible solutions by delivering immediate, non-refundable support to beneficiaries of ready-made, under-construction, and self-construction housing units in partnership with The Real Estate Development Fund and financing agencies and real estate developers.

The agency's website and application provide residential facilities and services, which include the real estate advisor, issuance of real estate tax certificates for the first house, obtaining a quotation from financing agencies, issuing e-land contracts, benefiting from the engineering designs service, the e-financing service, and the real estate market.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced that digital transformation directly impacted various aspects and saved over $4.5 billion annually.

The Ministry announced that it succeeded in curbing forgery and manipulations, saving time and effort for beneficiaries on a social level.

The statement noted that, environmentally, 35,000 trees were preserved with 559 million leaves. Carbon emissions were also reduced by 500 million kilograms between 2018 and 2020, and more than 5.1 trillion gallons of water were saved during the same period.

The Ministry also presented many technical and digital achievements during the GITEX Technology Week 2022 in Dubai, which contributed to raising the quality of life for citizens, residents, and visitors to the Kingdom.



Oil Drops for Third Day on OPEC+ Output Increase, Trump Tariffs

FILE PHOTO: An oil and gas industry worker walks during operations of a drilling rig at Zhetybay field in the Mangystau region, Kazakhstan, November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Turar Kazangapov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An oil and gas industry worker walks during operations of a drilling rig at Zhetybay field in the Mangystau region, Kazakhstan, November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Turar Kazangapov/File Photo
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Oil Drops for Third Day on OPEC+ Output Increase, Trump Tariffs

FILE PHOTO: An oil and gas industry worker walks during operations of a drilling rig at Zhetybay field in the Mangystau region, Kazakhstan, November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Turar Kazangapov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An oil and gas industry worker walks during operations of a drilling rig at Zhetybay field in the Mangystau region, Kazakhstan, November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Turar Kazangapov/File Photo

Oil prices declined for a third day on Wednesday, as investors worried about OPEC+ plans to proceed with output increases in April, and US President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico escalated trade tensions.

Brent futures fell $1.02, or 1.44%, to $70.02 a barrel by 1149 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined $1.33, or 1.95%, to $66.93 a barrel.

The contracts settled near multi-month lows the previous day, weighed down by expectations the US tariffs and counter-tariffs by the affected countries will slow economic growth and reduce fuel demand, Reuters reported.

"The imposition of tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico by the US sparked swift reprisals from each nation that increased concerns over a slowdown in economic growth and the consequent impact on energy demand," Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum, said.

Canada and China retaliated immediately to Trump's tariffs on Tuesday, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the country would respond, without giving details.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, decided on Monday to increase output for the first time since 2022, further pressuring crude prices.

The group will make a small increase of 138,000 barrels per day from April, the first step in planned monthly increases to unwind its nearly 6 million bpd of cuts, equal to almost 6% of global demand.

"There is a bit of a concern in the market that the OPEC+ decision is the start of a series of more monthly supply additions, but the statement from OPEC+ reiterates an approach in bringing back barrels only if the market can absorb them," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley Research said it was possible OPEC+ would deliver only a few monthly increases, rather than fully unwind the cuts.

The Trump administration also said on Tuesday it was ending a licensce the US granted to US oil producer Chevron since 2022 to operate in Venezuela and export its oil.

The decision puts 200,000 bpd of supply at risk, ING commodities strategists wrote in a note on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, US crude stocks fell by 1.46 million barrels in the week ended February 28, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

Investors await government data on US stockpiles, due on Wednesday.