Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Saudi Arabia signs $1.3bn housing deals with China

By Pramod Kumar
Saudi housing minister Majid Al Hogail said the kingdom offers significant investment opportunities in the housing sector SPA
Saudi housing minister Majid Al Hogail said the kingdom offers significant investment opportunities in the housing sector

Saudi Arabia has signed 12 infrastructure development agreements with Chinese companies and banks worth more than SAR5 billion ($1.33 billion).

The agreements include five housing-related projects, state-run SPA reported, citing the housing ministry.

Speaking at the Saudi-Chinese Business Forum in Beijing, Saudi housing minister Majid Al Hogail said the kingdom offers significant investment opportunities in the housing sector.

The country plans to construct over 300,000 residential units across 17 Saudi cities, covering an area of more than 150 million square metres and valued at SAR100 billion.

He invited Chinese companies to invest in Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector, disclosing the ministry is currently working with several Chinese companies on housing projects worth SAR3 billion.

Earlier, the minister discussed investment opportunities across several Saudi cities with officials from the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank), China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia remains one of China’s strongest global trade partners, leading Chinese engagement in the construction sector during the first half of 2023, according to a recent Belt and Road Initiative investment report.

Of 45 countries receiving Chinese financing and investment in the first six months of 2023, the kingdom had the highest construction volume at $3.8 billion, followed by Tanzania with $2.8 billion and the UAE at $1.2 billion, the report by the Green Finance & Development Center at Fudan University in Shanghai showed.

Latest articles

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio poses for a photo with UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 19, 2025

UAE’s $1.4trn US pledge is political positioning, experts say

The UAE’s pledge to invest $1.4 trillion in the US over the next 10 years is about political positioning rather than exact numbers, according to experts. The country committed to a 10-year $1.4 trillion investment in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy and American manufacturing during a meeting in Washington last week, according to a White House announcement. […]

Students from several universities take part in a protest against the detention of Istanbul mayor Ekram İmamoğlu

Protests in Turkey predicted to worsen fall in industrial activity

Industrial activity in Turkey fell for a fourth straight month to a two-year low in March, hit by fewer export orders and cooling domestic demand, central bank data shows. The decline is likely to be exacerbated by political unrest and financial fallout from the arrest last week of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekram İmamoğlu, a […]

Nomu, which means 'growth' in Arabic, has become a platform for small and medium sized companies to scale up

Junior Saudi market considers easing investor requirements

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority has proposed reforms to broaden the investor base of the kingdom’s junior stock market in an attempt to increase liquidity. The changes relax the requirements to register as a “qualified investor” on Nomu, the parallel alternative to the Tadawul, and extend this designation to board and committee members of listed […]

Tesla Saudi Arabia

Tesla to launch in Saudi Arabia next month

Tesla is due to launch in Saudi Arabia on April 10, with a special event at the Bujairi Terrace in Riyadh to show off its products, including its autonomous driving Cybercab and Optimus, its humanoid robot.   Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company is currently facing slowing sales and rising competition from cheaper Chinese rivals in key […]

A worker fills a tank at a petrol station in Riyadh. The rise of renewable energy and electric vehicles are having an impact on oil demand

Oil’s share of energy demand dips below 30% for first time

Oil’s share of the global energy mix has hit a historic low, dipping below 30 percent of demand for the first time as renewables and electric vehicles reshape markets, according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA’s Global Energy Review 2025 reveals that energy demand rose by 2.2 percent last year, outpacing the average yearly […]

Stalls in Bahrain's Manama Souq. Bahrain’s manufacturing sector is likely to bear the brunt of the new tax

Bahrain approves environmental tax on companies

Bahrain is to become the first country in the Arabian Gulf to introduce an environmental tax on companies as the island state struggles to rein in a growing budget deficit and bring government finances under control. The government of the region’s smallest nation by population has approved in principle a levy on carbon dioxide emissions […]

Oman's oil exports grew steeply after the Duqm refinery opened but non-oil exports fell

Oman’s exports rise after Duqm refinery comes online

Oman’s exports grew last year as a result of a sharp increase in oil refining production after the Duqm Refinery became operational, official figures show. Export of refined products almost trebled last year after the start-up of the $9 billion Duqm Refinery, a joint venture between the Omani government-owned OQ and Kuwait Petroleum International, a […]

The MT Sounion being towed through Egypt's Suez Canal earlier this month after it was attacked in the Red Sea. Suez Canal revenues have dropped from $2.4bn to $1bn

Egypt’s deficit stretched by high imports and regional tension

Egypt’s current account deficit more than doubled in the first quarter of the current fiscal year and the gap is expected to widen further, a Kuwaiti bank says. Key factors for the massive deficit include a surge in imports and lower Suez Canal revenues due to regional tensions, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in […]

Turkey Wealth Fund owns almost half of Turkish Airlines

UAE banks back Turkey Wealth Fund’s $1.2bn loan

State-backed Turkey Wealth Fund has secured its first loan without a treasury guarantee, backed by UAE-listed banks, a local newspaper reported. The sovereign fund raised €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) two-year syndicated loan from 20 banks from 12 countries, Daily Sabah reported. The interest rate was set at Euro interbank offered rate, plus 2 percent annually for […]

London-headquartered Ardonagh will use the fresh funds for potential acquisitions

Adia-backed London insurer seeks funds for growth

Ardonagh Group, a British insurance group backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), is reportedly close to raising $2.5 billion to fund its expansion. The London-based company will also use the funds for potential acquisitions, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. In December 2024, Adia and US private equity Stone Point Capital announced an investment in […]

aramco blue hydrogen

Aramco buys 50% of local blue hydrogen producer

Saudi Aramco has purchased a 50 percent stake in a low-carbon hydrogen production plant in Jubail, a city on the Gulf, owned by a unit of the Saudi Arabia-based company Air Products Qudra (APQ). The stake buyout will enable Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company (BHIG), a wholly owned subsidiary of APQ, to provide blue hydrogen […]

Agility acquired Menzies Aviation in 2022, which has operations in more than 65 countries

ADX-listed Agility targets $130m dividend payout

Logistics company Agility Global has proposed a final dividend of $65 million for 2024, taking the total payout to $130 million, reflecting a healthy growth in earnings last year. The company paid a $65 million dividend in December 2024, with a further $65 million set to be approved at the upcoming general assembly for approval, […]