Saudi firm injects another $266mln into housing finance market

RIYADH - The state-owned Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) continued its mission of supporting the consumer mortgage market with the injection of SR1 billion ($266 million) funding from Amlak International.

It is SRC’s third SR1 billion transaction and demonstrates its growing role as a catalyst for the Saudi housing market. The agreement announced on Tuesday was SRC’s first refinancing deal of 2018. It includes portfolio acquisition and a short-term financing (Murabaha deal).

Fabrice Susini, SRC’s chief executive officer, said: “We will keep enabling lenders to offer more accessible home buying solutions to more Saudi citizens by providing liquidity as well as balance sheet relief.

“The deal also signals SRC’s commitment to the Ministry of Housing to offer more accessible housing finance solutions and facilitate market growth.”

Real estate financers Amlak’s chief executive officer Abdullah bin Turki Al-Sudairy said: “As the first company granted a license to engage in real estate financing in Saudi Arabia, we recognize the need to work with the public sector to grow the real estate market.

“This agreement will help us provide sustainable mortgage solutions to ensure that citizens can easily own the right home.”

He added the deal showed what can be done through cooperation and an effective relationship between the public and private sectors. The SRC, fully owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) — the country’s main sovereign wealth fund — was formed in 2017 to create a secondary home loan market in Saudi Arabia. In line with Vision 2030 objectives, SRC aims to improve the real estate market, increase its contribution to GDP, and raise home ownership to 52 percent by 2020. The Kingdom’s mortgage market is expected to grow from SR280 billion in 2017 to SR500 billion by 2020.

Amlak International was the first real estate financing company approved by the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA). Amlak International recently announced that it will offer the first real estate financing for Ministry of Housing beneficiaries to acquire ready-made housing units within King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).

Over the past 10 years, Amlak has developed a close working relationship with developers, financing more than 9,000 units in more than 100 projects across the Kingdom.