Saudi Arabia Plans to Unveil Over 500,000 New Homes by 2030

Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail speaks at the Real Estate Future Forum 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail speaks at the Real Estate Future Forum 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Plans to Unveil Over 500,000 New Homes by 2030

Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail speaks at the Real Estate Future Forum 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail speaks at the Real Estate Future Forum 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia plans to introduce more than half a million new housing units by 2030, following recent legal changes that restructured the real estate sector. Over 15 supportive laws were enacted in the past five years to boost transparency and improve the investment climate.

Majid Al-Hogail, the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, shared this information at the opening of the third edition of the Real Estate Future Forum in Riyadh on Monday.

The event brings together representatives from over 85 countries, including 300 speakers from the public and private sectors, along with experts in economics and investment.

Al-Hogail highlighted the substantial role of banks and financial institutions, providing over SAR 650 billion ($173 billion) in real estate loans. State-supported loans reached around 750,000 contracts.

Since the launch of the housing program in 2018, the ministry has actively increased the real estate supply by offering over 450,000 residential units and plots of land.

“We aim to continue this effort in collaboration with leading real estate development companies, reaching around one million housing units by 2030,” stated Al-Hogail, citing companies like the National Housing Company and ROSHN.

The real estate sector contributes 12.2% to the non-oil GDP, while the construction and building sector contributes 11.3% as of Q3 2023.

Al-Hogail emphasized the sector’s significance, linking it to over 120 economic industries, making the real estate market an attractive investment and growth hub that can sustain prosperity.

Investment opportunities

Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector is increasingly appealing to both local and global investors, stressed Al-Hogail.

He noted the signing of agreements, including a significant deal with China worth over SAR 5 billion ($1.3 billion).

The minister also confirmed that more international partnerships are in the pipeline.

Real estate transformation

The forum featured a panel discussion on leadership in the transformation of the real estate industry.

Participants included Al-Hogail, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Justice Walid Al-Samaani, and Chairman of the Capital Market Authority Mohammed bin Abdullah El-Kuwaiz.

Al-Rajhi highlighted a record increase in Saudis working in the private sector, rising from 1.7 million in 2019 to 2.3 million last year. Saudization efforts successfully brought in 361,000 new workers.

“We didn't have specific Saudization plans for professions and real estate activities. The number of Saudis in the sector was just 12,000,” Al-Rajhi remarked.

He noted a 200% increase in citizen employment across various professions like brokerage, sustainable construction, and arbitration.

On his part, Al-Khateeb shared that the tourism sector contributed 4.5% to the GDP last year, up from 3% in 2019.

He announced the arrival of five “Four Seasons” hotels in Saudi in the next three years, along with significant global resorts.

The Tourism Development Fund supported projects worth about SAR 25 billion riyals ($6.6 billion) for housing and entertainment, and more incentives will be revealed soon.

The minister emphasized Saudi Arabia’s appeal to tourists. The Kingdom is aiming to attract 150 million visitors by 2030 and for tourism to contribute SAR 750 billion ($200 billion) to the national economy.



China Rebuffs Trump Offer of Tariff Concessions if Beijing Agrees TikTok Deal

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of US President-elect Donald Trump and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of US President-elect Donald Trump and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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China Rebuffs Trump Offer of Tariff Concessions if Beijing Agrees TikTok Deal

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of US President-elect Donald Trump and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of US President-elect Donald Trump and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

China rebuffed on Thursday a suggestion from US President Donald Trump that he might offer to reduce tariffs on the country to get Beijing's approval for the sale of popular social media platform TikTok.

Trump said this month the United States was in talks with four groups interested in acquiring TikTok, with the app facing an uncertain future in the country, AFP said.

A US law has ordered TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner ByteDance or be banned in the United States, enacted over concerns that Beijing could exploit the video-sharing platform to spy on Americans or covertly influence US public opinion.

The law took effect on January 19, a day before Trump's inauguration, but he quickly announced a delay that has allowed it to continue to operate.

That delay is set to expire on April 5.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that he could give China "a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done".

"We're going to have a form of a deal," Trump said, adding that if it wasn't done in time, he would extend the deadline.

"China is going to have to play a role in that, possibly in the form of an approval and I think they'll do that."

Beijing swiftly rebuffed Trump's suggestion, with its foreign ministry saying that it has "repeatedly stated our position" on TikTok.

"The Chinese side's stance against imposing additional tariffs is also consistent and clear," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

'People's Bid for TikTok'

Trump similarly attempted to ban TikTok in the United States on national security concerns during his first stint in the White House.

TikTok temporarily shut down in the United States in January and disappeared from app stores as the deadline for the law approached, to the dismay of millions of users.

Trump suspended its implementation for two-and-a-half months after beginning his second term on January 20, seeking a solution with Beijing.

TikTok subsequently restored service in the United States and returned to the Apple and Google app stores in February.

Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity recently expressed its interest in buying TikTok.

Perplexity laid out in a blog post a vision for integrating its AI-powered internet search capabilities with the popular video-snippet sharing app.

"Combining Perplexity's answer engine with TikTok's extensive video library would allow us to build the best search experience in the world," the San Francisco-based firm said.

Although TikTok does not appear overly motivated regarding the sale of the app, potential buyers include an initiative called "The People's Bid for TikTok", launched by real estate and sports tycoon Frank McCourt's Project Liberty initiative.

Others in the running are Microsoft, Oracle and a group that includes Internet personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.

"Any acquisition by a consortium of investors could in effect keep ByteDance in control of the algorithm, while any acquisition by a competitor would likely create a monopoly in the short form video and information space," Perplexity said in its post.

"All of society benefits when content feeds are liberated from the manipulations of foreign governments and globalist monopolists."