Saudi builder Arabian Dyar looks toward Mecca as it considers IPO

Arabian Dyar has its sights firmly planted on Mecca as the Saudi real estate developer plots a growth strategy intended to culminate in an IPO.

The Jeddah-based builder, led by three brothers from Jeddah’s wealthy Alatawi family, already conducts half of its business in the holy city, busily erecting thousands of apartments in proximity to the Grand Mosque that is the ultimate destination for the 1.6 million Muslims who perform the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage each year.

Those pilgrims and about 16 million people from Saudi Arabia and abroad who visit other religious sites in the kingdom are the company’s target customers amid expectations of a deeper construction boom in Mecca, Arabian Dyar Vice President Anis Alhabshi told The Circuit. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 national economic plan calls for increasing that number to 30 million over the next five years.

“What’s special about this is for people to have that spiritual meaning,” Alhabshi said on Thursday in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. “They want to be there and detox and be close to God and pray at the holy mosque right there,” he said, suggesting many would buy apartments as a second home or timeshare.

Alhabshi, a 62-year-old Singaporean who previously worked for Emaar Properties, a larger competitor led by Dubai’s Mohamed Alabbar, said riding the wave of anticipated demand in Mecca, as well as in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Red Sea city of Yanbu, should propel the company toward an initial share sale in the next two to three years.

“We are hungry, and we see immense potential in the kingdom, so we want to consider an IPO,” Alhabshi said. “If we remain private, our shareholding structure and our financial structure will be limited.”

Arabian Dyar has emerged as one of the more ambitious mid-tier real estate developers in Saudi Arabia, positioning itself to capitalize on the iingdom’s sweeping urban transformation and the investment backdrop of Vision 2030. Established in 2011, the company operates across the kingdom, focusing on master-planned residential communities, hospitality assets and, increasingly, industrial platforms.

A recent partnership with Google to invest up to $100 million in AI and data-driven development systems is positioning the group as a digital-minded operator in a sector traditionally slow to modernize.

Arabian Dyar operates in a competitive field dominated by established state-owned companies backed by the kingdom’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund that have become global contractors. Benchmark peers include Emaar, Saudi Binladin Group, Nesma & Partners and Al Mabani – firms that are bigger and have longstanding government relationships.

While Arabian Dyar remains smaller than its most prominent rivals, it is increasingly carving out space through targeted investment, institutional partnerships and a narrative centered on technology, quality and community-led urbanism.

That’s the direction that Alhabshi says has kept his bosses – Chairman Muammar Alatawi, Vice Chairman Ahmed Alatawi and CEO Naif Alatawi – content to tailor Arabian Dyar’s expansion strategy to the domestic market in the near and medium-term.

Later, fueled by shareholders if the IPO takes off, plans could change.

“There’s enough business to be made,” he said. “We don’t need to leave Saudi Arabia for the next 10 years.”

Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties shifts focus to affordable housing

Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s biggest real estate developer, is shifting gears from luxury villas to more inclusive projects aimed at everyday residents.

Flush with cash after years of booming growth, the company now plans to build homes priced between $136,000 and $816,000, along with rental options for workers earning $1,360 to $5,450 a month.

It’s also rolling out affordable schools, community shops, and even a new Gulf credit fund to help smaller builders access financing, CEO Talal Al Dhiyebi told Bloomberg.

As Abu Dhabi draws in a wave of global professionals, Aldar’s new focus signals that the emirate’s leaders want the government-owned developer to evolve to serve not just the wealthy elite, but the teachers, nurses, and engineers who are now struggling to keep up with rising rents.

Emaar’s Mohamed Alabbar says his memoir is about to be released

Mohamed Alabbar, the Emirati developer behind Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is releasing a memoir.

The 68-year-old founder of Emaar Properties said on Instagram that he wrote “For the Love of the Craft” to share his reflections as a family man and proud citizen of the UAE.

The book’s cover is pictured in the Instagram post but no publishing date is given.

Alabbar, a longtime advisor to the UAE leadership, established Emaar in 1997. The company built the Dubai Mall – then the world’s biggest mall by total area – in 2009 and opened the adjacent 162-story Burj Khalifa the following year.

Alabbar is also Chairman of international property developer Eagle Hills and e-commerce platform Noon.

Dar Global expects sellout by summer for Dubai’s Trump Tower

Dar Global, the Saudi developer behind Dubai’s planned $1 billion Trump Tower, expects the building to sell out by the end of summer and is planning to launch more projects with the Trump Organization.

The project, launched in April, is expected to be finished in five years and will feature more than 500 homes, with two $20 million penthouses, a Trump-branded hotel and a clubhouse.

“Sales have been strong, [there has been] very good reception for the brand, for the mix and the location,” Dar Global CEO Ziad El Chaar told The National.

Dubai’s property market has continued its steep ascent, with the average price per square foot reaching AED 1,808 ($492) in May.

UAE’s Arada buys Australian builder Roberts in $20M deal

UAE developer Arada has acquired the New South Wales state arm of Australian construction firm Roberts Co, investing $20 million to support its expansion in Australia and securing 700 jobs across its supply chain.

The Sydney-based builder will become the “main delivery pipeline” for 5,000 homes Arada plans to build in the next 24 months, chief executive Ahmed Alkhoshaibi told The Australian Financial Review.

The Gulf cash injection comes at a critical time for Roberts Co, which was forced to put its Victorian state arm into administration in March, leaving projects worth billions in limbo.

Arada, a Sharjah-based firm founded by the son of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Sharjah’s Deputy Ruler Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, has been growing at lightning speed.

It first announced it would make its international debut in Australia last August. Alkhoshaibi told The National in February that the company was open to the possibility of an IPO after it sold out a $1.5 billion Sharjah project in three hours.

Dubai’s Damac pours $3 billion into Southeast Asia data centers

Dubai developer Hussain Sajwani sees AI gold in Southeast Asia.

The Emirati billionaire’s Damac Group plans to invest about $3 billion through its Edgenex subsidiary to build data centers across Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand over the next three to five years, Bloomberg reports.

Damac, which focuses primarily on Dubai real estate, has been diversifying into a variety of industries from tech to fashion.

Edgenex, which already operates two data centers in Saudi Arabia, plans to build the digital infrastructure in its new Asian facilities that can house the high-end servers essential for providing artificial intelligence services.