A large number of real estate developers from India are taking part in a property exhibition in Riyadh.

Owais Ahmed, president of the India Business Forum (IBF), inaugurated “India Homes 2014”.

The exhibition, to move to Jeddah on Monday and to be staged in the Eastern Province on Friday, will bring together Indian expatriates to explore investment opportunities in different parts of India.

Abraham Valiyakala, managing director of Eastern Channel Company Ltd, who is the brain behind the show, said: “The aim behind the exhibition is to create an effective platform of understanding, interaction and collaboration for potential purchasers or investors in Saudi Arabia and the realty developers of India.”

The events will showcase properties from India to the substantial NRI community in the Kingdom in the asset classes, including residential and commercial, he added.

Valiyakala said India Homes 2014, the only Indian realty expo in Riyadh, was a huge success on the opening day — last Friday.

The event, inaugurated by Ahmad in the presence of a huge business gentry and investors, proved to be a good opportunity for Indian community living in Riyadh.

Valiyakala welcomed the gathering of builders and buyers.

Eminent personalities including NRK Chairman P. Balachandran, media personality K U Iqbal, Najeem Kochukallunge and Nasser Karanthoor attended the inaugural session in Riyadh.

Giving details of the participating real estate companies, he said several builders from Hyderabad, Kerala, Bangalore, Chennai, Manglore, Delhi are participating in the show.

A symposium on real estate in India, inaugurated by Amir Ahmad Khan, chief of the Indian Engineers Forum (IEF), Riyadh chapter, was also organized on the sidelines of the exhibition.

The show will continue on Feb 10 and 11 in Jeddah (Trident Hotel), Feb 13 in Jubail (Cookxon Hotel) and on Feb 14 and 15 in Dammam ( Holiday Inn Dammam).

It concluded in Riyadh on Saturday night .

All real estate companies including the premium developers from India will join the shows in Jeddah, Dammam and Jubail, making it one of the exclusive property shows for Indian expatriates living in Saudi Arabia.

In fact, real estate in India continues to be a favored destination globally for investors, developers and non-resident Indians (NRIs), driven largely by investor-friendly government policies and increasing globalization.

The second largest employment generation sector after agriculture, real estate contributes about 6.3 percent to India’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The sector’s progress is driven by factors such as rapid urbanization, a growing trend toward nuclear families, positive demographics, rural–urban migration, ever-developing infrastructure, higher income levels and housing demand.

The Indian real estate sector, with its growing investment opportunities, is expected to post annual revenues of $180 billion by 2020.