JEDDAH, 7 November 2005 — Saudi commercial banks have started channeling part of their investments to Gulf markets to make use of the growing stock and financial markets and real estate business projects in GCC countries.
Some Saudi banks have offered a variety of investment projects to their Gulf clients. They include joint investment funds for stocks to be managed by international financial organizations specialized in Gulf markets.
Real estate investment funds offered by Saudi banks to their Gulf clients would be used to invest in real estate projects such as residential and office towers, tourism projects and shopping centers. Real estate is one of the fastest growing sectors in the region with prices shooting up.
The new investments are expected to focus on Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar and Bahrain.
Oman’s tourism sector is expected to attract huge investments in the coming years, especially in the southwestern Dhafar state, which attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year.
Banking sources said stock investment funds would draw investments worth more than SR2 billion, in the wake of growing stock markets in Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, Al-Eqtisadiah, a sister publication of Arab News, reported yesterday.
The new move by Saudi banks comes at a time when many Saudi investors put their money in stocks in other Gulf countries.
