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Arabian AlDyar Eyes Saudi Listing, Signs Google Partnership

Naif Al-Atawi, Chief Executive Officer of Arabian Dyar for Real Estate Development, speaks to Asharq A-Awsat. (Turki Al-Agili)
Naif Al-Atawi, Chief Executive Officer of Arabian Dyar for Real Estate Development, speaks to Asharq A-Awsat. (Turki Al-Agili)
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Arabian AlDyar Eyes Saudi Listing, Signs Google Partnership

Naif Al-Atawi, Chief Executive Officer of Arabian Dyar for Real Estate Development, speaks to Asharq A-Awsat. (Turki Al-Agili)
Naif Al-Atawi, Chief Executive Officer of Arabian Dyar for Real Estate Development, speaks to Asharq A-Awsat. (Turki Al-Agili)

Naif Al-Atawi, Chief Executive Officer of Arabian Dyar for Real Estate Development, said the company is studying the possibility of going public on Saudi Arabia’s stock market (Tadawul), adding that its current focus is on innovation and sustainable growth.

Al-Atawi said Arabian Dyar aims to redefine real estate development in the Kingdom by integrating artificial intelligence and digital transformation into its operations - a move he described as a qualitative leap toward greater efficiency and long-term sustainability across its projects.

The announcement coincided with the company’s signing of a strategic partnership with Google during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2025 in Riyadh. The $100 million agreement aims to support Arabian Dyar’s transformation into a “smart real estate” firm that leverages data and intelligent technologies in both its development and operational activities.

Under the deal - the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and the wider region - Google will act as Arabian Dyar’s global advisor and technology partner, helping the company adopt advanced digital platforms and AI-based systems in planning, design, and real estate management.

Al-Atawi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the partnership will enhance the company’s investment decision-making and site selection, while improving its ability to identify target customer segments with greater precision.

The joint initiative focuses on turning data into actionable insights to improve predictive accuracy, accelerate project execution, and boost asset management efficiency.

Al-Atawi said the transformation aligns with Saudi Vision 2030 and reflects the company’s commitment to innovation and sustainability as key drivers of growth. Integrating smart technologies into real estate development, he added, will enhance decision-making, reduce operational risks, and help create more resilient and efficient communities.

Founded in 2011, Arabian Dyar develops world-class residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects across Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Yanbu.

The company’s project portfolio in 2025 was valued at around $2.93 billion, including more than $1 billion in completed developments and $1.26 billion under construction, according to company figures.

Among its flagship projects is “Dyar AlHaram” in Makkah, which comprises 12 residential and hotel towers with total investments estimated at 8 billion riyals ($2.8 billion).

Located about 550 meters from the Grand Mosque, the development is part of the “Masar Makkah” urban destination, which combines residential, commercial, and service facilities in a modern environment.

The project aims to provide integrated real estate solutions that meet the needs of Makkah’s residents and visitors, in line with the company’s strategy to build sustainable, contemporary communities in strategic locations across the Kingdom.

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Business

Saudi Minister Says AIIB Success Measured by Development Impact, Not Financing

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)
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Saudi Minister Says AIIB Success Measured by Development Impact, Not Financing

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan urged the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to judge its success by the impact of its projects, saying financing volumes and approvals alone do not show whether the bank is improving services, strengthening institutions, or building economic resilience.

Speaking at the 11th annual meeting of the bank’s Board of Governors, which concluded on Tuesday in Doha, al-Jadaan said the AIIB had built strong foundations in its early years.

Progress on regional connectivity, cooperation and private-sector participation had strengthened its ability to meet member countries’ infrastructure needs, he said.

As the bank expands, progress “should not be measured by financing volumes or project approvals alone, but by development impact,” he said.

Success should mean “better infrastructure services, stronger institutions, greater economic resilience and broader private-sector participation,” al-Jadaan said, as the bank enters its second decade and seeks to expand infrastructure financing and mobilize more private capital.

He called for earlier engagement with member countries to better understand their circumstances, infrastructure gaps and priorities, and for multiyear programs aligned with national strategies.

Al-Jadaan also urged the bank to broaden partnerships with multilateral development banks and international organizations to share expertise, avoid duplicating efforts and mobilize more public and private resources.

He said the bank should remain guided by member countries’ needs, taking account of differences in institutional capacity, fiscal space and levels of infrastructure development.

The Doha meeting, held under the theme “Future Infrastructure: Impact and Innovation,” comes as the bank prepares for a new phase of expansion.

The AIIB has said it aims to nearly double annual financing to about $20 billion by 2030, focusing on infrastructure linked to climate resilience, renewable energy, digital transformation and regional connectivity, while mobilizing more private capital.

Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the AIIB, a multilateral development finance institution established in Beijing in 2016.

Business

African Leaders to Gather in Egypt for Business Summit

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
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African Leaders to Gather in Egypt for Business Summit

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File

African leaders will meet in Egypt on Friday for a business summit that Cairo hopes will bolster its clout across the continent.

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions.

"This is an African platform," Egypt's deputy foreign minister for African affairs Mohamed Abu Bakr Saleh told AFP.

"A country in East Africa should be able to sign an agreement with a country in West, North or southern Africa through this platform."

Saleh said the forum would become a biennial event under an African Union mandate, focusing on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy.

Officials estimate Egyptian investments across Africa at around $14 billion. Among Egypt's flagship ventures is Tanzania's $3 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project, built by a consortium led by Egyptian companies.

Yet trade within Africa remains limited, totalling just $192 billion in 2023 and only accounting for around 15 percent of the continent's total trade, compared with more than 55 percent in Asia and over 70 percent in Europe.

Africa also attracted about $70 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025, a fraction of the roughly $1.6 trillion invested globally, according to the UN.

"Africa possesses vast resources, but they are still not being exploited to the level we would like to see," Saleh said.

The gathering also takes place against the backdrop of an unresolved dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the $5 billion GERD, Africa's largest hydroelectric project.

Ethiopia says the dam, inaugurated last year, is vital for economic growth, while Egypt says it could threaten Nile water supplies without a binding operating agreement.

More than a decade of negotiations have failed to yield a settlement.

"Our position on Egypt's water security has not changed and will not change," Saleh said. "It is an existential issue for Egypt."

Business

US Ban on $1 Billion Worth of Canadian Imports Goes into Effect

Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)
Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)
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US Ban on $1 Billion Worth of Canadian Imports Goes into Effect

Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)
Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)

US-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including dairy products and motorcycles.

The ban amounts to barely a ripple in $880 billion worth of a two-way annual trade between the two northern neighbors. But it marks another ratcheting up of President Donald Trump’s second-term trade war with America’s longtime ally and trading partner.

The import ban “certainly won't do anything to help the trade tensions between the United States and Canada,'' said trade attorney Patrick Childress, a partner at Holland & Knight and a former US trade official.

The latest sparring began over the summer when Trump reached back to a Great Depression law to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, charging that Canada discriminates against US dairy and auto producers. Canada promptly counterpunched with tariffs of 15% and 25%, matching US imports dollar for dollar.

To punish Canada for retaliating against his tariffs, Trump decided to ban a list of Canadian products, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday.

The economic impact is likely to be minimal. Childress noted that the products on the banned list were already facing Trump’s tariffs. “For a lot of these goods, the 50% was already acting as a de facto ban by making importation from Canada into the United States uneconomical,″ he said.

Jacob Jensen, director of trade policy at the center-right American Action Forum think tank, calculates that the ban would cover $967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 numbers.

“This marks yet another escalation in the trade war that may result in further retaliation on the Canadian side,” Jensen said. He expects Canadian exporters and US importers “impacted by these bans will be highly motivated’’ to demand that trade officials on both sides find some way to reach a “resolution of this whole ordeal.’’