JEDDAH, 7 December 2006 — Bank Albilad will manage the initial public offering of Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC) as the two sides yesterday signed an agreement. The company offers 201,400,000 shares with a total value of SR2.014 billion or 30 percent of its capital. Prospective shareholders can buy as many shares as they want but the minimum purchase is 50 shares. Saudi authorities licensed the company recently with a capital of SR6 billion in order to carry out one of the biggest real estate projects in the Arab world at an estimated cost of SR12 billion.
“It is one of the largest real estate projects in the Arab world,” said Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, chairman of the constituent committee for JODC, after signing the agreement in Makkah with Azzam ibn Abdullah Aba Al-Khail, CEO of the bank.
“The Jabal Omar project covers an area of 230,000 square meters and aims at providing advanced housing facilities to tens of thousands of Saudi and pilgrims,” Faqeeh said. It also includes construction of new roads, tunnels and pedestrian pathways as well as prayer area for 200,000 worshippers.
“The project will change the face of Makkah,” he added.
Faqeeh also thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for licensing the company, and Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, chairman of the Makkah Development Authority, for his support to the project.
Aba Al-Khail thanked Faqeeh and partners for selecting his bank to manage the IPO and its financial consultant. “Although Albilad is a new bank, we have the capabilities and expertise to carry out this job in a perfect manner in the service of our clients and partners in success,” he said. Jabal Omar’s initial public offering will be restricted to Saudis.
The Jabal Omar project includes building of 40 residential towers, five-star hotels and commercial centers, construction of a road parallel to Um Al-Qura Road and parking for thousands of vehicles.
Faqeeh, who is a prominent Makkah businessman, said the project would take care of Jabal Omar’s topography. Hills in the area are now being flattened to start work on the project. He said the project would make use of domestic and international architectural expertise.
A number of new real estate projects are being implemented in Makkah to cater to the needs of increasing number of pilgrims who come for both Haj and Umrah. According to Habib Zain Al-Abidine, undersecretary at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, some 25 new real estate projects are being carried out in the central region of Makkah.
Economists say new real estate projects around the Grand Mosque will draw investments in excess of SR100 billion ($26.7 billion).