Latest news with #financial district
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Real Estate: Saudi Arabia Is About To Open Up For Outsiders
The King Abdullah Financial District «KAFD» (KAFD) is located in the city of Riyadh, and it is one ... More of its largest existing projects, and the only one of its kind in the Middle East, where this file will become an average of 1.6 million translators, the financial market, financial banks, financial banks, and banks Financial offices, in addition to other service institutions such as accountants, legal professionals, lawyers, analysts, financial advisors, rating offices, and service providers. Earlier this year, I was invited to Saudi Arabia to speak at a conference. LEAP is a technology show, and normally, wild horses wouldn't be able to drag me to such an event. However, the charismatic CEO of Tahaluf lured me there – not with the promise of fat appearance fees, but with the simple pitch: 'You just have to see it.' A long time ago, when bitcoin was young, I made a little YouTube video where I said, 'It doesn't matter how bad times are – whether there's a recession, a market crash, political uproar, war, or famine – somewhere out there, there's a party going on. The trouble is, you're not invited.' The party, of course, was crypto. The point was that you need to be on the lookout for that metaphorical party, find its location, and gatecrash it. That party could be an asset like bitcoin, a new tech theme exploding onto the scene – like quantum computing did earlier this year – or even a place, like Tokyo in 1999, or for that matter, Silicon Valley when I first stepped foot there in the early 1980s. (Why, oh why, did I leave?) So when a bigwig like Michael Champion at LEAP says, 'There is something going on here, and you need to see it,' I listen. In short: the party is in Saudi. From a distance, Saudi Arabia may appear to sit squarely in the swirling morass of the Middle East. But if you've spent time living in Dubai, like I have on and off over the years, you realize the region is highly diverse. The difference between Syria and Qatar, for instance, is vast. LEAP was a bit of a revelation for me in terms of what's happening in Saudi Arabia. The country is changing – fast. Now, I'll admit: give me a future potential and I'm your guy. I'm all in, trying to make something happen a decade or so before it becomes the next big thing. I moved into Docklands when it was still industrial wasteland. I get into industries before they're even fully invented. That's just what floats my boat. Google my trail of OG-ing since my teens – it's borderline pathological. But I'm older and slower now, and not quite the pioneer I used to be. Still, I can look at a desert and see unbounded potential – or more accurately, I can go to a huge tech expo and realize that something big is underway. (Disclosure: I'm NOT on anyone's payroll. I'm just genuinely enthusiastic.) So here's the challenge: How do you invest in Saudi and its potential? The answer: not easily. You could say you can't – not as a regular person without private jet-level money. But wait. That's about to change. Now, I'm not a real estate fan myself, but I know it's a global obsession. I'm that odd person who doesn't yearn for bricks and mortar. I own some, but more because I believe in diversification than out of any real affection. I have real estate in Dubai – it's been good to me – but I'm not lining up to buy more. I love stocks. I loathe illiquid assets. Again, I know it's weird. But I also know a lot of my readers love real estate, and what I'm about to share will pique their interest. So here it is: Saudi Arabia is going to open up to foreign ownership of real estate at the end of this year. Starting January 1, 2026, it's been announced that foreign investors will be able to buy property in Saudi Arabia – just like they can in Dubai. I learned this while at the LEAP show, where I managed to grab a few minutes with Rachel Sturgess, the head of Cityscape, the definitive property event in Saudi. I asked her as much as was decent about what's coming. In short: the kick-off date for foreign property ownership is 1/1/26, and non-Saudis will be allowed to buy into developments in Riyadh and Jeddah. Reading between the lines, it'll likely be pre-build sales – condos and villas – mirroring Dubai's model. Think big developers launching marquee projects with all the marketing glitz we've come to expect. That formula has worked brilliantly in the UAE, and Saudi Arabia seems poised to follow suit. Now, I don't give investment advice. I offer thoughts for readers to reflect on. This article is simply a heads-up for those interested in property. One of the world's most dynamic and wealthy countries is about to open its real estate market to outsiders – for the first time. If that's your kind of thing, then January 1, 2026 is when the doors open. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for further announcements about what this will look like in practice. As with all investment opportunities, it's always better to hear about them before they happen than to find out after the opportunity has passed.
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Howe's dilemma as Newcastle's Saudi owners can't ignore case to sell Isak
Amid the jungle of super-skyscrapers dominating Riyadh's financial district, one building soars above the rest. From the higher floors of the 385-metre PIF Tower, employees can plot their next deal while gazing down on a glass-curtained canopy of concrete, steel and polished marble. For Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the chair of Newcastle United, the top of this striking, 80-storey crystalline structure is a place where metaphorical blue-sky thinking meets reality. The bad news for Eddie Howe is that the business case for selling Alexander Isak to Liverpool this summer is surely far too persuasive for Rumayyan and his colleagues to ignore. In an ideal world Newcastle's manager would keep the Sweden centre-forward while acquiring the France Under-21 striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt before a Champions League campaign. Given that Liverpool, like Newcastle, have made contact with Eintracht over Ekitike and seem determined to acquire the Frenchman or Isak that scenario seems unlikely. The message from Newcastle – and it is said to originate 'right from the very top' in Riyadh – has consistently been that Isak will not be sold this year. Indeed, the word is that Howe wants to deviate from his preferred, winger-heavy 4-3-3 and play Isak and Ekitike in attacking tandem. But, even before contemplating the reality that insisting something or someone is not for sale at any price is frequently a precursor to driving a hard bargain, that supposed stance begs quite a few questions. First and foremost why, shortly after Howe and club officials met Isak's agent, did Newcastle suddenly turn their attention from potential £30m replacements for Isak's former understudy Callum Wilson to more expensive targets and end up offering Eintracht Frankfurt approaching £70m for Ekitike? Was it really pure coincidence? And why has there not been any announcement of Isak entering long-mooted summer negotiations to extend a contract that runs until 2028? Even if a player who scored 23 goals in 34 Premier League appearances last season declined to sign, a deal could surely be discussed. Although Isak is extremely well paid at about £150,000 a week, talks regarding a planned pay increase last summer were postponed as Newcastle struggled to stay on the right side of Premier League spending rules. Much improved terms seem his for the taking now but maybe that moment has passed and Isak would rather move to pastures new. Newcastle have long suspected that he would decline an extension this summer, and their original plan was to keep him for one more season and sell high in 12 months. But Ekitike's wages would almost certainly be slightly cheaper and, at just turned 23, he is almost three years younger than Isak. Throw in some stylistic similarities in the pair's games – for a start both like to drift to the left and suit counterattacking tactics – and the fact that Ekitike is less injury prone and the case for doing a deal with Liverpool becomes ever more persuasive. Then there's Howe's relationship with Richard Hughes. Newcastle's manager and Liverpool's sporting director are good friends, stemming from their days together at Bournemouth. Although Liverpool deny making a formal approach for Isak, the fact that intermediaries have subtly made clear that Arne Slot's board would be prepared to pay about £120m for Howe's prize possession suggests they have received encouragement, however tacit, from someone, somewhere. With Paul Mitchell having stepped down as Newcastle's sporting director this summer and Darren Eales, the chief executive, due to depart on health grounds, Andy Howe, the manager's nephew, has a key role in recruitment. It may or may not be significant that he also knows Hughes well. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion With Darwin Núñez seemingly likely to join Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal or Napoli, Liverpool's twin interest in Isak and Ekitike means it is near impossible to envisage both players wearing black and white stripes next season. Given PIF's gargantuan wealth it might all be very different without profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) but those spending regulations have arguably made selling well even more important than buying cleverly. Newcastle narrowly avoided a PSR breach last June and, even though their financial position is healthier, the club's commercial revenue streams still have some catching up to do with those of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal. With Newcastle having paid Nottingham Forest £55m for the Sweden right-winger Anthony Elanga this summer, they cannot spend big without selling smartly. Considering Howe needs a right-sided central defender and a goalkeeper – negotiations with Burnley are inching towards a £30m-plus deal for James Trafford – in addition to replacing the Leeds-bound Sean Longstaff in midfield, something is going to have to give. Accordingly if Newcastle can sell Isak for almost double the near-£65m they paid Real Sociedad for him it would reflect extremely well on their PSR balance sheet. The attendant financial wriggle room would help fund the purchase of a central striker as cover for Ekitike or whoever joins as the first choice, and maybe even a move for Coventry's Jack Rudoni, an attacking midfielder much coveted by Howe. It all leaves the ball firmly in Eintracht's court. The German club are noted as tough negotiators and hope for more than Ekitike's £87m release clause. Bundesliga strikers have not always fared overly well in the Premier League but the Frenchman scored 22 goals last season, including 15 in the league to help Eintracht qualify for the Champions League. In 2022 he was Newcastle's top attacking target, ahead of even Isak. Howe has twice tried, and failed, to buy him. Liverpool possess the pulling power and financial clout to tempt Ekitike to play for Slot rather than Howe but is Isak the striker Slot really wants? One thing is clear. If Newcastle cannot sign Ekitike the stack of cards collapses and it becomes impossible to imagine anyone in PIF Tower approving Isak's sale.
The Standard
15-07-2025
- General
- The Standard
China's Q2 economy growth beats estimates though consumers tighten belts, US tariff risks mount
People walk on a pedestrian bridge at Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
