Saudi Sovereign Fund Sets up Real Estate Unit to Meet Housing Demand

Business

August 19th, 6:05pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Residential units are seen in Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said on Wednesday it had set up a new real estate subsidiary dubbed Roshn to help meet increasing local demand for housing. PIF said Roshn aimed to increase strategic partnerships with real estate investors and support the development of the contracting sector through the adoption of modern and innovative technologies. “We are proud to launch Roshn, a national company specialized in developing modern residential compounds, as part of PIF strategy to develop (Saudi’s) real estate market,” it said in a tweet. The Saudi government wants to increase activity in the real estate market and increase home ownership to 70% by 2030, from a figure which official statistics put at 62% at the end of 2019. The objectives are part of the housing goals attached to the Vision 2030 reform program promoted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. PIF, which manages more than $300 billion in assets, has investments in domestic mega-projects including the $500 billion NEOM economic zone, the Red Sea tourism project, and Qiddiya, an entertainment development that will include a Six Flags theme park. Roshn will focus on nine cities in four main regions: Riyadh, Eastern Province, Makkah and Asir.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2457821/saudi-sovereign-fund-sets-real-estate-unit-meet-housing-demand