First phase of NEOM’s city starts construction on Red Sea coast
Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion NEOM mega-project is getting off the ground.
Speaking at the Public Investment Fund’s Private Sector Forum in Riyadh, NEOM Chief Development Officer Denis Hickey said on Friday that the first phase of its 170 kilometer-long city, The Line, will be built at the Hidden Marina site on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast.
The first segment of the project will stretch 2.5 kilometers in length and rise 500 meters high.
It is expected to accommodate over 200,000 residents in 80,000 residential units, with 9,000 hotel rooms, as well as commercial and retail spaces, fire stations, schools, police and security services.
Lulu shares drop on Abu Dhabi market after year’s biggest IPO
After electrifying investors across the Gulf who wrestled to buy its shares, mega-grocery chain Lulu Retail Holdings’ IPO landed today with a thud.
Touted as the UAE’s biggest initial stock sale this year, priced at the top of its marketed range and oversubscribed within an hour of its offering, Lulu fell as much as 2.5% in trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The IPO looked like such a sure bet that Lulu boosted the size of the offering to 30% from its initial plan for a 25% sale.
Lulu’s slow start comes weeks after a $2 billion energy-sector IPO by Oman’s OQ Exploration & Production dropped 8% in its debut, Bloomberg reports. Dubai-based supermarket chain Spinneys, which raised $374 million in May, also had an undramatic debut and continues to trade around the offer price. Both those deals were oversubscribed too.
The Middle East is in the midst of an IPO boom that’s seen firms raise around $10 billion this year. Coming soon is an initial share sale from Talabat, the Middle East unit of Berlin-based Delivery Hero, that could reach a value higher than its parent.
Since its founding in 1973, Lulu has grown into one of the Middle East’s largest hypermarket chains and reported a profit of $192 million last year. It serves over half a million shoppers a day from 240 stores in six countries across the Gulf, and employs more than 50,000 people.
The IPO boosted India-born founder Yusuff Ali’s net worth to $7.1 billion, cementing his position as the UAE’s second-richest private individual, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Riyadh among top 15 fastest-growing cities over next 10 years
Even as the most audacious blueprints for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 are revised, Riyadh is still poised to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the world over the next decade as the kingdom’s mega-projects take root, according to British property consultancy Savills.
Saudi Arabia’s capital city landed in the top 15 fastest-growing cities by 2033 — the only urban center outside of Asia on the list — according to the Savills Growth Hubs Index.
Indian and Chinese cities take five spots each in the top 15, followed by Vietnam with two, and the Philippines, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia with one each. The ranking is a compilation of forecasts of population, wealth and economic expansion.
Riyadh is at the center of the kingdom’s diversification push away from oil as the city serves as regional headquarters to an influx of international companies.
Major new developments are also underway to improve livability. The mixed-use property development New Murabba and a new metro system are under construction as the city prepares to host the World Expo in 2030 and vies for the World Cup in 2034.
The Middle East’s third largest city is expected to record a 26% uptick in population, taking Riyadh from 5.9 million to 9.2 million residents in 10 years. The new-arrivals boom is expected to result in continued government spending on massive infrastructure projects as well as improved amenities and services to accommodate the growing population, according to Savills.
“Saudi Arabia boasts a population of around 36 million people and, astonishingly, 67% are under the age of 35,” Richard Paul, Head of Professional Services & Consultancy Middle East, said in the report.
“The employment potential and ultimate spending power of this segment of the population over the next decade are enormous.”
