Investors hunt for opportunities at Cityscape Riyadh
Against the backdrop of the Kingdom’s bright economic outlook and its implications for the growing Saudi real estate market, the Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event Cityscape Riyadh 2011 is expected to set a new benchmark among Riyadh’s real estate and business community and offers investors a platform to seize new opportunities.
This year’s event is held under the patronage of HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Special Advisor to the Emir of Riyadh and officially supported by Arriyadh Development Authority and Riyadh Municipality. The event is organised for the second year running by the National Exhibitions Company and IIR Middle East, Riyadh International Urban Development & Real Estate Investment Event and will be held at the Riyadh Exhibition Center on King Fahad Road from 11-13 December in the Kingdom’s capital.
The move to the Exhibition Center is essential due to the increasing demand from exhibitors for a bigger amount of space to showcase their projects and services. The event will offer the Saudi Arabian real estate investment and development community an unprecedented Business-to-Business platform to engage, network and identify business opportunities in the Middle East’s largest economy.
"Riyadh International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event - Cityscape Riyadh is happening at the right time and in the right place. With more than 10,000 expected visitors, Cityscape Riyadh attracts a steadily increasing number of real estate professionals, investors and companies," said Deep Marwaha, Group Director of IIR Middle East.
Commenting on the potential of Riyadh’s real estate market Mr. Yasser Abu Atiq, CEO of Dar Al Tamleek said, “Riyadh is one of the most favourable markets within the Kingdom for the real estate industry. This is due to several factors but the most important is the land mass surrounding the city that is available for development projects. The expansion of both high-end and affordable housing projects are not bound by mountains, sea or other geographic factors that limit outright housing growth in other cities. Unlike the other major markets, Riyadh is also the centre of government and therefore a world showcase for demonstrating Saudi progress in creating opportunities for its citizens and diversifying into non-oil sectors of economic growth.”
In March, the government ordered 500,000 housing units to be built within five years and set aside $66 billion for the project. Affordable housing is clearly on the government’s agenda and with the positive forecast for next year’s budget the real estate market is poised for further growth. With Saudi Arabia on course to earn nearly $300 billion in oil revenue this year, $50 billion more than planned, and $550 billion in foreign reserves, the Kingdom is expected to exceed the amount projected in the national budget for 2011, as former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal and Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister Finance of Saudi Arabia confirmed.
“This is good news for the Kingdom’s economy and will significantly benefit the real estate sector,” said Hussain Al Harthi, Managing Director, National Exhibition Company. “With the Kingdom set for further growth it comes as no surprise that the region’s fastest growing real estate event, Cityscape Riyadh, has moved to larger premises at the Riyadh Exhibition Center in order to accommodate the high demand for an internationally recognised platform for investment opportunities.”