KSA: More than 3,000 Real Estate Developers to Benefit from Support Program

 The Saudi Minister of Housing conducts a visit to the National Housing Company to review the most important developments in achieving the goals of Vision 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Minister of Housing conducts a visit to the National Housing Company to review the most important developments in achieving the goals of Vision 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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KSA: More than 3,000 Real Estate Developers to Benefit from Support Program

 The Saudi Minister of Housing conducts a visit to the National Housing Company to review the most important developments in achieving the goals of Vision 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Minister of Housing conducts a visit to the National Housing Company to review the most important developments in achieving the goals of Vision 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing announced a program targeting more than 3,000 real estate developers through a number of agreements with business accelerators.

The agreements seek to develop programs and initiatives aimed at raising the capabilities of real estate developers, within the framework of the joint efforts of a number of government authorities and agencies working within the Coordinating Committee for the Development of the Contracting Sector.

The initiative includes providing various “administrative and operational” support through business accelerators, which enable developers to succeed in completing their projects, thus increase the housing supply and the number of establishments, as well as developing the capabilities of developers and raising the efficiency of the market at the local level.

The latest program comes within a series of initiatives by the Coordinating Committee for Contracting Development that aim to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 by increasing job opportunities and raising the sector’s participation in the GDP.

The Committee is formed of several ministries, including, the Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Trade, Finance, Human Resources and Social Development, Investment, Economy and Planning, in addition to the Government Expenditure and Projects Efficiency Authority, the Saudi Contractors Authority, and the Saudi Council of Engineers.

Meanwhile, Saudi real estate developer ROSHN signed SR6 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of credit facilities deals with three of the Kingdom’s leading banks.

ROSHN signed agreements with the Saudi British Bank, Bank Albilad, and Al Rajhi as part of its strategy to obtain external funding for its projects.

“Taken together, these deals are an important milestone for ROSHN. By working with the Kingdom’s dynamic financial sector, we can accelerate the ambitious development program that is bringing our new way of integrated, sustainable living to cities across the Kingdom,” said ROSHN Group CEO, David Grover.

The developer said the new financial agreements fall in line with the framework of its objective of building vital urban communities covering nine cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Al-Kharj, Hofuf, Qatif, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Abha, and others.



OPEC Again Cuts 2024, 2025 Oil Demand Growth Forecasts

The OPEC logo. Reuters
The OPEC logo. Reuters
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OPEC Again Cuts 2024, 2025 Oil Demand Growth Forecasts

The OPEC logo. Reuters
The OPEC logo. Reuters

OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand growth this year and next on Tuesday, highlighting weakness in China, India and other regions, marking the producer group's fourth consecutive downward revision in the 2024 outlook.

The weaker outlook highlights the challenge facing OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, which earlier this month postponed a plan to start raising output in December against a backdrop of falling prices.

In a monthly report on Tuesday, OPEC said world oil demand would rise by 1.82 million barrels per day in 2024, down from growth of 1.93 million bpd forecast last month. Until August, OPEC had kept the outlook unchanged since its first forecast in July 2023.

In the report, OPEC also cut its 2025 global demand growth estimate to 1.54 million bpd from 1.64 million bpd, Reuters.

China accounted for the bulk of the 2024 downgrade. OPEC trimmed its Chinese growth forecast to 450,000 bpd from 580,000 bpd and said diesel use in September fell year-on-year for a seventh consecutive month.

"Diesel has been under pressure from a slowdown in construction amid weak manufacturing activity, combined with the ongoing deployment of LNG-fuelled trucks," OPEC said with reference to China.

Oil pared gains after the report was issued, with Brent crude trading below $73 a barrel.

Forecasts on the strength of demand growth in 2024 vary widely, partly due to differences over demand from China and the pace of the world's switch to cleaner fuels.

OPEC is still at the top of industry estimates and has a long way to go to match the International Energy Agency's far lower view.

The IEA, which represents industrialised countries, sees demand growth of 860,000 bpd in 2024. The agency is scheduled to update its figures on Thursday.

- OUTPUT RISES

OPEC+ has implemented a series of output cuts since late 2022 to support prices, most of which are in place until the end of 2025.

The group was to start unwinding the most recent layer of cuts of 2.2 million bpd from December but said on Nov. 3 it will delay the plan for a month, as weak demand and rising supply outside the group maintain downward pressure on the market.

OPEC's output is also rising, the report showed, with Libyan production rebounding after being cut by unrest. OPEC+ pumped 40.34 million bpd in October, up 215,000 bpd from September. Iraq cut output to 4.07 million bpd, closer to its 4 million bpd quota.

As well as Iraq, OPEC has named Russia and Kazakhstan as among the OPEC+ countries which pumped above quotas.

Russia's output edged up in October by 9,000 bpd to about 9.01 million bpd, OPEC said, slightly above its quota.