RIYADH: Saudi developer Emaar Economic City, an affiliate of Dubai-based Emaar Properties, posted a second-quarter net loss of SR40.5 million ($10.8 million), up nearly nine-fold from a year earlier. Emaar, which is developing the giant King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) project on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, had posted a net loss of SR4.7 million in the three months to June 30 last year, it said in a statement on the bourse website.
“These losses were the result of a normal increase in operating costs in the absence of operating profit, since the KAEC is still under construction,” it said. KAEC, the keystone of a policy of industrial expansion in Saudi Arabia, has attracted SR130 billion of investment so far, state news agency SPA reported in June, 30 percent above the initial target.Emaar Economic City is spearheading the development of the industrial, tourism and real estate complex, which includes a financial centre and luxury residential areas.
