RIYADH:Vision 2030 announced by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and opening of the Tadawul to foreign investors have been resulting in the rising graph of international interest in Saudi plans.
“In fact, the international interest has reached an all-time high, thanks to Vision 2030 that envisages reforms aimed at diversifying the Saudi economy,” said one of the experts speaking at the Euromoney Conference 2016, which ended on Wednesday.
Also, following the opening of Tadawul to foreign investors with the stock market easing rules for them, the business ecosystem in the Kingdom is at its best and will contribute a great deal in attracting foreign investors, one other expert said.
Speaking at the second day session on ‘Real estate: Pricing, regulation and investment structure,’ Salman Abdullah bin Saedan, chairman, Salman Abdullah Bin Saedan Group, said: “It is right time to enter the real estate market. Vision 2030 assures a roof for all with the government recognizing each family’s aspiration to own a home and committed to increase the home ownership substantially by 2020, which he feels will substantially raise the number of new entrants to the housing sector.
About the real estate market, he said: “The housing minister has the real estate background and he will handle it well, fulfilling the domestic requirements as well as attracting investors to the sector.
Echoing the sentiments, Bader Al-Hammad, chairman Maceen Capital, said: “The whole mechanism of the real estate market is going in the right direction.”
He pointed that youths form about one-third of the Saudi population and they all are looking to meet their housing needs.
Moreover, people are moving from the primary cities to the secondary cities creating opportunities for the real estate and it is a good time for the foreign realtors with reasonable pricing to join the investment.
Amro Nahas, MASIC head of real estate investment, highlighted the experience of public-private partnerships (PPP) in developing such vital projects and advocated for the PPP model saying banks alone cannot provide the funds.
Imad Damrah, Colliers International managing director, stressed that there is indeed appetite for foreign investors in the real estate market with the structural reforms in progress.
The session was moderated by Mohamed Kharboush, conference director, Euromoney conference.
Speaking at the session on SME development initiatives, Ahmed Matar, Maceen Capital head of investment banking, highlighted Kafala Program which issues guarantees for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and said the program has succeeded
in the provision of an effective financing instrument for SMEs to expand the base of their businesses.
Kafala Program is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Finance, represented by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and Saudi banks, and aims to promote financing to the SME sector in the Kingdom.
Through the program, the banks offer finance to customers up to SR2 million; Kafala Program provides guarantees to the banks covering up to 80 percent of the required financing.
He pointed that the banks financing SMEs development will also help develop human resources and create job opportunities for the Saudi youth with more SMEs in the market joining economic diversification program.
Abdulkarim Al-Nujaidi, director general Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), said: “We are trying to make entrepreneurs understand the need of the market.”
HRDF employs great transparency toward HR development with the help of domestic and foreign companies, he added.
Joining them Chris Innes-Hopkins, UK executive director, Saudi-British Joint Business Council, shared his UK experience on the growth of SMEs in the UK.
On cooperation with the Kingdom in the SME sector, he noted that joint training programs were conducted in cooperation with the King Saud University (KSU) and King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives (DARA).
The session on SMEs was moderated by Euromoney Conference Program Director Tara Hosseini.
Earlier, speaking on the future of the Kingdom’s debt market the speakers agreed that with economic reforms the price discovery mechanism is much easier now with the market looking more settled.
Mohamed Hamra-Krouha, Clifford Chance head of banking and projects, said: “With the opening of Tadawul and easing rules for foreign investment, the future of the debt market will be more acceptable as it is an attractive initiative for FDI.”
Alexis Taffin de Tilques, head of debt capital markets CEEMA, BNP Paribas, shared the view that the investment market in the Kingdom is now comfortably positive.
Mona Al-Tawil, director, head of structured finance, HSBS Saudi Arabia, said that Vision 2030 highlights the role of Economic Cities Authority (ECA) in financing mega projects, which is a positive sign for the capital market.
Manish Manchandya, SEC head of corporate finance, asserted that the Kingdom’s fund market is signaling a positive sign for the capital market.
“In fact, the international interest has reached an all-time high, thanks to Vision 2030 that envisages reforms aimed at diversifying the Saudi economy,” said one of the experts speaking at the Euromoney Conference 2016, which ended on Wednesday.
Also, following the opening of Tadawul to foreign investors with the stock market easing rules for them, the business ecosystem in the Kingdom is at its best and will contribute a great deal in attracting foreign investors, one other expert said.
Speaking at the second day session on ‘Real estate: Pricing, regulation and investment structure,’ Salman Abdullah bin Saedan, chairman, Salman Abdullah Bin Saedan Group, said: “It is right time to enter the real estate market. Vision 2030 assures a roof for all with the government recognizing each family’s aspiration to own a home and committed to increase the home ownership substantially by 2020, which he feels will substantially raise the number of new entrants to the housing sector.
About the real estate market, he said: “The housing minister has the real estate background and he will handle it well, fulfilling the domestic requirements as well as attracting investors to the sector.
Echoing the sentiments, Bader Al-Hammad, chairman Maceen Capital, said: “The whole mechanism of the real estate market is going in the right direction.”
He pointed that youths form about one-third of the Saudi population and they all are looking to meet their housing needs.
Moreover, people are moving from the primary cities to the secondary cities creating opportunities for the real estate and it is a good time for the foreign realtors with reasonable pricing to join the investment.
Amro Nahas, MASIC head of real estate investment, highlighted the experience of public-private partnerships (PPP) in developing such vital projects and advocated for the PPP model saying banks alone cannot provide the funds.
Imad Damrah, Colliers International managing director, stressed that there is indeed appetite for foreign investors in the real estate market with the structural reforms in progress.
The session was moderated by Mohamed Kharboush, conference director, Euromoney conference.
Speaking at the session on SME development initiatives, Ahmed Matar, Maceen Capital head of investment banking, highlighted Kafala Program which issues guarantees for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and said the program has succeeded
in the provision of an effective financing instrument for SMEs to expand the base of their businesses.
Kafala Program is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Finance, represented by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and Saudi banks, and aims to promote financing to the SME sector in the Kingdom.
Through the program, the banks offer finance to customers up to SR2 million; Kafala Program provides guarantees to the banks covering up to 80 percent of the required financing.
He pointed that the banks financing SMEs development will also help develop human resources and create job opportunities for the Saudi youth with more SMEs in the market joining economic diversification program.
Abdulkarim Al-Nujaidi, director general Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), said: “We are trying to make entrepreneurs understand the need of the market.”
HRDF employs great transparency toward HR development with the help of domestic and foreign companies, he added.
Joining them Chris Innes-Hopkins, UK executive director, Saudi-British Joint Business Council, shared his UK experience on the growth of SMEs in the UK.
On cooperation with the Kingdom in the SME sector, he noted that joint training programs were conducted in cooperation with the King Saud University (KSU) and King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives (DARA).
The session on SMEs was moderated by Euromoney Conference Program Director Tara Hosseini.
Earlier, speaking on the future of the Kingdom’s debt market the speakers agreed that with economic reforms the price discovery mechanism is much easier now with the market looking more settled.
Mohamed Hamra-Krouha, Clifford Chance head of banking and projects, said: “With the opening of Tadawul and easing rules for foreign investment, the future of the debt market will be more acceptable as it is an attractive initiative for FDI.”
Alexis Taffin de Tilques, head of debt capital markets CEEMA, BNP Paribas, shared the view that the investment market in the Kingdom is now comfortably positive.
Mona Al-Tawil, director, head of structured finance, HSBS Saudi Arabia, said that Vision 2030 highlights the role of Economic Cities Authority (ECA) in financing mega projects, which is a positive sign for the capital market.
Manish Manchandya, SEC head of corporate finance, asserted that the Kingdom’s fund market is signaling a positive sign for the capital market.
