“The Saudi-Egyptian Real Estate Investment Conference” concludes activities

Multiple discussions on integration between Egyptian and Saudi developers.

Precise scrutiny of challenges and opportunities in both Countries.

Abdul Rahman Al-Taweel: The Kingdom’s leading real estate investor in Egypt with investments exceeding $55 billion.

Ahmed Sabour: The conference served as a bridge for exchanging experiences among real estate developers in both countries and achieved its goals.

Ahmed Shalaby: Egyptian projects garnered interest from Saudi investors with plans for joining local market.

Basem Klila: The conference exceeded expectations.. Saudis being the most sought-after for real estate in Egypt.

November 23^rd 2023, Saudi Arabia -Riyadh

The “Saudi-Egyptian Real Estate Investment” conference concluded activities, Thursday, under the theme “Integration, not Competition.” The sessions and rich discussions resulted in comprehensive action plans to enhance cooperation between Egyptian and Saudi real estate developers.

In the first session “Partnership: The Future Path for Egyptian and Saudi Real Estate Developers,” participants explored various concepts aiming to achieve integration and mutual benefit between the Egyptian and Saudi markets. They reviewed successful experiences of collaboration between Egyptian and Saudi real estate developers, as well as the points of divergence and convergence between the two real estate models.

The second session, “Real Estate in Development Plans: 2030 as a Common Link,” got significant praise from investors and developers regarding the real estate development targets in Saudi Arabia’s 2030 plan. They also discussed the projects targeted by the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, amounting to over SAR 68.7 billion (USD 18.3 billion), along with urban development goals according to Egypt’s 2030 vision.

Also, Egypt’s Administrative Capital Company presented investment opportunities in the third and final session “Real Estate: Promising Opportunities”. The session also covered the advantages of investing in real estate in Egypt, the returns it generates, and the incentives provided by the Egyptian government to investors.

During final activates, the conference honored some of great Real Estate Developers, like Eng. Ahmed Sabour, Chairman of “Al Ahly -Sabbour,” a pioneer in Egypt’s real estate sector with over 57 major projects nationwide. Sabour also founded the “Egyptian Association for Young Entrepreneurs,” supporting sustainable business environments.

The conference honored also Sherif Saif Al-Nasr, often regarded as the “first teacher” in the Egyptian real estate sector.

Common Visions

The Real Estate Investment conference concluded with several recommendations aimed at strengthening integration between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the real estate market. These include enhancing shared spaces for urban development in both countries, facilitating private sector participation, and providing golden permits for targeted Saudi real estate projects in Egypt to expedite their implementation.

Recommendations also emphasized intensifying the activities of the real estate committee at the “Egyptian-Saudi Business Council” to increase joint business events between developers from both countries. Additionally, the removal of any legislative obstacles hindering integration between Egypt and The Kingdom or impeding the 2030 plans in both countries was highlighted. They called for leveraging Saudi expertise in real estate funds and enhancing their role in financing joint projects in both countries.

Also, Participants recommended creating a unified electronic platform for new cities in Egypt, including virtual tours to allow investors to explore their advantages remotely. They also urged increased collaboration in the tourism sector between the Red Sea coasts and the organization of joint travel programs.

Furthermore, recommendations highlighted the importance of issuing a booklet outlining available real estate opportunities in the Egyptian market, legislative frameworks protecting investors, and investment incentives. The establishment of a high-level real estate export authority under the Egyptian Cabinet, involving relevant ministries, the Real Estate Development Chamber, and the Real Estate Investment Sector, was proposed to provide more assurance to Saudi investors.

The recommendations also called for the development of a list of property specifications preferred by Saudi investors for consideration in Egyptian real estate projects, the removal of obstacles to registering properties in Egypt, and the creation of a mechanism to finance non-Egyptian clients, including Saudis.

Additionally, participants stressed the need to promote green building culture to address climate change impacts and reduce energy consumption.

Major Partnership

Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Al-Taweel, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing for Real Estate Development in Saudi Arabia, emphasized the depth of economic and political relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Al- Taweel highlighted Saudi Arabia as the top global and Arab investor in Egypt, with existing investments exceeding $55 billion.

“The Saudi companies have great confidence in the Egyptian market, evidenced by the presence of 6,225 Saudi industrial companies operating in Egypt with investments of $30 billion. Additionally, there are 518 Egyptian companies operating in the Saudi market, along with 285 Egyptian brands spread across the Kingdom”, He said.

Eng. Ahmed Sabour, the conference’s secretary-general and chairman of the board of “Al Ahly Sabbour for Real Estate Development”, stated that the conference was successful by all measures. It achieved its objectives, including establishing a unified platform for integration between Egyptian and Saudi developers and identifying challenges hindering Saudi investments in the local real estate market.

Sabour added that the conference “successfully attracted Gulf investors to Egypt by providing a comprehensive explanation of the state’s efforts in real estate exports, aiming to achieve an annual revenue of around $3 billion from ‘real estate exports.’ It also highlighted the numerous sustainable cities recently launched by Egypt, and the investment gains associated with them”.

In the same context, Dr. Ahmed Shalaby, President of the “Egyptian Real Estate Council”, stated that the conference revealed the alignment of perspectives between Egyptian and Saudi developers on the necessity of launching joint projects and exchanging experiences between the two countries. He emphasized the promising opportunities within the Egyptian market.

Shalaby stressed that the recent trend of some companies investing in the Saudi market serves the domestic market by attracting Gulf investments and supporting urban development efforts in Egypt. This also provides opportunities for partnership between Saudi investors and Egyptian companies, such as Egypt’s experience in establishing a company in the Saudi market, with the next step being to attract the institution to invest in Egypt, according to his vision.

Basem Klila, Chairman of the Board of “Expo Republic”, pointed out that the conference took place alongside the “Nile Real Estate” exhibition, which witnessed significant interest from the Saudi side. Klila said, “The number of executed operations was immense by all measures, making it an exceptional edition in all aspects”.

He added “The exhibition aimed to provide a direct meeting between exhibiting companies and investors interested in purchasing Egyptian real estate, ensuring an element of trust. Meanwhile, the conference was an opportunity to explain the promising opportunities in the Egyptian real estate market and showcase the experiences of Egyptian companies that qualify them strongly to enter the Saudi market, with the aim of diversifying their investment portfolios, especially as the Saudi market is also promising”.

He affirmed “There is great cooperation from Saudi officials, with plans to launch giant real estate and tourist projects”.