Saudi Arabia's residential real estate likely to see persistent demand in long term: Amlak CEO

Saudi Arabia's residential real estate is expected to see a persistent demand in the long-term, backed by the government housing support initiatives and youth increasing turnout, Abdullah Al Sudairy, CEO of Amlak International for Real Estate Finance Co. told Argaam.

The commercial real estate will deliver a mixed performance over the coming period, as schools and hospitals will likely see growing demand over the coming period, compared to other commercial properties.

"The company’s core activity entails providing real estate finance solutions for retail and corporate segments for 13 years. It is offering Sharia-compliant, asset-backed and low-risk financing which helps it mitigate the risks during the current circumstances," Al Sudairy stated.

"We have unpaid dividend for 2019. A dividend payment is subject to the approval of both investors and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA)," Al Sudairy indicated adding that the company has been paying dividend for a long time.

As for the initial public offering (IPO), Al Sudairy highlighted that Amlak has been bracing for the share offering since years.

"The IPO was supposed to be launched months ago, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Such circumstances should not impact our long-term plans," Al Sudairy stressed.

He also hoped that the pandemic outbreak would not weigh on the IPO, as the offering decision was thoroughly studied in coordination with the financial advisor, NCB Capital.

During the IPO, shareholders will not unload stakes, only outstanding shareholders will sell 30% of their ownership, he noted.

Amlak started yesterday the book-building process for its planned IPO, and the process is scheduled to end on June 29, as the Kingdom’s leading non-bank real estate finance company will float 27.18 million shares, or 30% of its SAR 906 million share capital.