Saudi Arabia Launches $1b Real Estate Funds to Provide Thousands of Homes

The Saudi Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing during his tour of the Restatex Riyadh Real Estate Exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing during his tour of the Restatex Riyadh Real Estate Exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Launches $1b Real Estate Funds to Provide Thousands of Homes

The Saudi Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing during his tour of the Restatex Riyadh Real Estate Exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing during his tour of the Restatex Riyadh Real Estate Exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al Hogail inaugurated Restatex Riyadh Real Estate Exhibition 2023 on March 7.

The exhibition, being held at Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center, will continue until March 10.

Several senior officials from government agencies, financing agencies and real estate development companies are expected to attend.

During the opening ceremony, Al Hogail witnessed the launch of real estate funds with a total value of more than SAR 4 billion ($1 billion), according to a press release.

The funds aim to provide more than 4,000 housing units in Riyadh and Madinah on an area of over one million square meters (sqm).

The exhibition enjoys wide participation from real estate development and marketing companies, financing agencies, Saudi banks and institutions specialized in housing and real estate affairs in the public and private sectors, which provide unique housing and financing solutions that suit various Saudi families and meets with the Vision 2030.

In this edition, Restatex will include eight dialogue sessions mainly focusing on the real estate industry and the role of the public and private sectors, sustainability and quality of life in the real estate sector, urban development and Saudi innovation, digital transformation in the real estate sector, affordable housing, real estate brokerage, housing projects challenges and solutions, and a success story by balancing quality and price.

In other news, Al Hogail inaugurated a technical link between the “Tatweer Program” of the Real Estate Development Fund and the Real Estate Developers Services Center “Etmam.”

The link comes with the aim of strengthening the complementary partnership between the Tatweer Program and Etmam.

This will contribute to automating and speeding up the submission of applications and achieving the goals of the national housing program, which focuses on raising the proportion of Saudi families owning their homes to 70 % by the end of 2030.



Saudi Digital Payments Market Attracts Global Investments

Visitors to the Fintech 24 Conference in Riyadh (Photo: Turki Al-Aqili)
Visitors to the Fintech 24 Conference in Riyadh (Photo: Turki Al-Aqili)
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Saudi Digital Payments Market Attracts Global Investments

Visitors to the Fintech 24 Conference in Riyadh (Photo: Turki Al-Aqili)
Visitors to the Fintech 24 Conference in Riyadh (Photo: Turki Al-Aqili)

Saudi Arabia is pushing to increase digital payments to 70% by 2030, creating significant opportunities for global companies to expand in the region.
According to the Saudi Central Bank, electronic payments in the retail sector grew by 12% in 2023, reaching 70% of total transactions. Cashless transactions hit 10.8 billion, up from 8.7 billion in 2022, driving international companies to establish regional headquarters and capitalize on this growing market.
Nouf Al-Salama, Business Development Manager at PayerMax, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the company has opened a regional office in Saudi Arabia to strengthen its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
She noted that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are expected to experience rapid growth in e-commerce, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the change. According to CNNB Solutions, both countries are seeing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39% and 38%, respectively.
Federico Pienovi, Head of Commercial Operations for Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania at Argentine company Globant, revealed the company’s ambitions to generate $1 billion in revenue in the Saudi market over the next five years.
He said that Saudi Arabia has been selected as Globant’s regional headquarters, although the company is expanding across the region. With these ambitions, Globant plans to create over 500 local jobs in the coming years, continue its expansion, support national talents, and work on major projects that bring cutting-edge technology innovations to the Kingdom, he underlined.
Mordor Intelligence projects a 15.4% CAGR for Saudi Arabia's payment market between 2022 and 2027, making it one of the most advanced markets transitioning towards a cashless society.
PayerMax estimates the global digital payments market, valued at $7.79 trillion in 2022, will reach $14.77 trillion within five years, driven by the growth of digital wallets, smartphones, and payment technologies. Emerging economies’ rapid smartphone adoption is expected to further fuel this growth.