IREF Middle East 2006 explores real estate market opportunities in the GCC countries and beyond 
IREF Middle East 2006 explores real estate market opportunities in the GCC countries and beyond
The conference is in co-operation with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and in association with Islamic Banker magazine.
According
to a study conducted by Samba Financial Group, the Kingdom is
positioned to earn an all-time record, SR761 billion ($ 202.9 billion)
in oil exports earnings this year, representing a 25-percent increase
in oil earnings compared to last year. Furthermore, according to many
bankers, the projected magnitude of the capital flows in the GCC and
Saudi economy over the next few years is 'mind-boggling.'
This
massive liquidity in the market has also generated huge private wealth,
which is continuously in search of value added investment opportunities
both at home and abroad.
IREF is the first international real
estate conference to be organized in the Kingdom, which also straddles
both the conventional and Shariah-compliant investment sectors. Saudi
Arabia is by far the single largest real estate market in the GCC,
whether in terms of owners of capital; market size or potential market
growth, accounting for US$ 12,800 million followed by the UAE with US$
8,049 million.
According to various estimates, private liquidity
in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries is a staggering
US$ 2.3 trillion, of which US$ 1.5 trillion is in the GCC alone.
Moreover, the contribution of the real estate sector to GDP in the GCC,
according to Global Research, totaled US$ 27,274 million in 2004, some
5.8 per cent of GDP.
Also perhaps one of the most promising
market indicators is that 36 per cent of GCC population is under the
age of 15. This alone suggests huge future demand for housing stock.
High quality office space is in short supply in Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah,
and Doha. This has had an upward impact on prices.
With all
these factors in play, this conference aims to leverage these factors
and to highlight the role, contribution and importance of the sector to
the Saudi economy, comes at a perfect time. It aims to explore and
inform interested parties about the current state of the real estate
market, focusing particularly on the regional markets and those markets
that are popular locations of GCC investment such as the US, UK, and
the EU.
The conference will consider new market opportunities;
future product trends including private equity, REITS and Waqfs;
innovations in housing finance; developments in social housing; and the
case for real estate insurance. It will also discuss the spectacular
emergence of Shariah-compliant real estate investments.
Mohamed
Abdullah Al-Sharif, Secretary General of the Jeddah Chamber of commerce
commented that: 'With global oil markets sustaining current levels; all
projections indicate that increasing GDP growth rate and levels of
private wealth in the Kingdom and Gulf States will maintain an upward
momentum in the foreseeable future. Most analysts stress that real
estate, as an asset class will dominate the investment scene in the
Kingdom and the region, including in new areas such as social housing,
home financing, and securitization. As such this conference which
focuses on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the GCC and international
markets could not be more timely.'
In the past IREF has brought
together professionals and practitioners from the global real estate
sectors as well as those from the conventional and Islamic financing
industry. Continuing this tradition, IREF ME 2006 will feature
presentations from over 40 distinguished speakers from all over the
world focusing on the hottest topics in their areas of expertise.
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