RIYADH: Gulf Tech News
The Saudi Housing Finance Conferencewill be returning to Riyadh on 24 May 2023. Hosted by Euromoney Conferences, the fourth edition of the event will be held at Movenpick Hotel and Residences Riyadh, bringing experts and thought leaders from the Kingdom, wider region and beyond together to share ideas on how to build sustainable growth in the housing market.
Held in partnership with and co-hosted by the Housing Program, Real Estate Development Fund (REDF), General Authority for Real Estate (REGA) and Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), the theme of this year’s conference is “Meeting the challenges of scale”.
Expected to attract over 500 participants, the conference will focus on the latest developments in the Kingdom’s transition to an effective and innovative housing market. It will offer policymakers, financial regulators, bankers, state funds, businesses, and providers of private capital from around the world the opportunity to explore topics such as risk management and innovation.
Discussions will also be centered on lessons learnt from international markets, the importance of financial and capital markets, the new regulatory landscape, giga projects, liquidity, higher interest rates and educating the investor base.
In line with the goals of the Housing Program and objectives of Vision 2030, the event will underscore efforts to enhance the housing market ecosystem and boost private sector investment to help increase homeownership to 70% by 2030. It will bring the importance of housing and housing finance to the growth and development of the Saudi economy into sharp relief.
Over the course of the conference, a range of interviews will also be conducted, including a sit-down interview with Luca Bertalot, Secretary General, European Covered Bond Council (ECBC). Additionally, a selection of panel discussions will be held, with these addressing subjects such as “The Saudi housing market – the next phase (2024-2030)” and “Financial and capital markets”.
Elias Abou Samra, CEO, Rafal Real Estate Development Co., Yazeed Al-Shamsi, Co-Founder and CEO, Ejari; and Kobus Havemann, Director, KSA Country Manager, Turner & Townsend, will also join Euromoney Conferences’ Richard Banks to discuss “How could Saudi build an innovation ecosystem to support housing development?” The opening keynote address of the event will be delivered by H.E. Mr Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipality, Rural Affairs and Housing, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
H.E. Mr Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Chairman of Housing Program , Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing said: “The housing market continues to play a defining role in the Kingdom’s growth and development. That we have made such significant strides as a nation over the last few years owes a great deal to the contributions of our housing sector to the national economy.
He added: “With housing at the very core of Vision 2030, it is vitally important that we remain as future-focused as possible, bringing industry experts, thought leaders and changemakers together to pioneer solutions to pressing challenges and safeguard the future of our industry and the wider region. The Saudi Housing Finance Conference is geared towards doing exactly that, providing a timely platform for networking and the meaningful exchange of ideas — knowledge-sharing that will set the Saudi housing market apart for years to come.”
