So Much Happening In Saudi Arabia
Inside this week's edition: Lucrative real estate markets of Makkah and Madinah opened for non-Saudis, Dubai govt. planning another IPO and following the PIF's footsteps.
Foreigners Can Now Invest In Makkah And Madinah’s Lucrative Real Estate Markets
This is a moment to celebrate for investors who’ve always wanted to celebrate in the lucrative markets of the Two Holy Cities. Bonyan REIT is one of the first to start accepting subscriptions from non-Saudis. This particular REIT owns properties in Madinah among a host of other cities. But surprisingly it didn’t make much in terms of gains. Well, that’s the stock market for you.
Another Government Entity IPO In Dubai
Ever since Dubai’s announcement of taking its prized $25 billion-valued Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to the bourse, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) has risen and risen till a Dh3 trillion market cap now seems in range. Seeing the interest in the govt. entity the Dubai government has announced it’s getting its road toll collection system Salik listed as well. The emirate is also speeding up its attempts to improve its financial markets with a series of new initiatives, including the creation of a $544.5 million market-maker fund (AED 2 billion). It would also launch a $272.2 million (AED 1 billion) fund to encourage tech companies to launch IPOs. So you can clearly expect more highs from the DFM as investors rush to buy stakes in these highly profitable companies.
Riyadh As The Gulf’s Capital
There’s so much happening in Riyadh right now and being the capital of the largest economy in the GCC, Riyadh seems to be staking a claim on its rightful place. They first started by encouraging companies to shift their regional HQs to the city (44 have already shifted recently), then there’s Riyadh Season that’s putting up a spectacle unlike anything else in the kingdom before and they’re now building a whole new nonprofit city called the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman City. So expect many jobs, lots of construction tenders and a whole shift in the way the city looks by means of the construction blitzkrieg happening in the city. For businesses now is probably the perfect time to pack and shift to Riyadh. They’re giving crazy incentives for businesses to shift to Riyadh too. REIT funds dealing with properties in Riyadh seem to be a good grab as well. They’ve already risen quite a bit as the kingdom keeps its daily COVID tally to below 50.
Following PIF’s Footsteps
The PIF, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, has made some incredible investments that have yielded incredible profits — think Lucid Motors and Noon. If you think the minds at PIF are doing a good job you might want to be investing on the lines that they have. They’ve picked up a host of US stocks in the 3rd quarter including Hyzon Motors Inc., Plug Power Inc., Ballard Power Systems Inc., Cummins Inc., Shopify Inc. and Pinterest Inc. among a slew of others. They’re basically betting big on tech (Chinese tech companies included) and renewables.
Saudi Arabia Is Pushing For Autonomous Vehicles (AVs)
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has become an established autonomous mobility pioneer having launched the Kingdom’s first AV on its campus in 2019. AVs are central to all the sustainable giga cities that Saudi Arabia is building. As we write this, NEOM has announced an emissions-free industrial complex stretching some 7km that will float on water. Anyway, coming back to the AVs, they are expected to cut traffic congestion by 90% and reduce accidents by 90%. WOW!
That’s all the roundup we have for you this week, be sure to subscribe to never miss our weekly newsletter. Do share this with your friends, family and colleagues as well — it’s your love that keeps us going.
A big thanks to Raoof Zubair who contributed to this week’s roundup.