REDF to host inaugural housing finance conference in Riyadh

The Kingdom’s Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) is set to host the inaugural Saudi Housing Finance Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh on Wednesday.

The conference, the first of its kind to be held in the Kingdom, will focus on the raft of new reforms that have been designed and implemented to support and progress the Kingdom’s housing finance market and also the REDF’s new financial model, which will see the organization become a more financially sustainable proposition.

Attendees will comprise a widerange of leading industry experts — Saudi policy makers, financial regulators, bankers and investment professionals — who will come together to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the country’s housing financing market.

With the Kingdom experiencing year-on-year population growth (over 2 percent in 2017), the imperatives surrounding home ownership is a key priority for the Saudi government and is a key component of Vision 2030. In order to address the challenges the sector faces, REDF has an explicit mandate to increase the access to home finance for all Saudi citizens, support the financial industry to back new housing initiatives and secure investment opportunities across the housing sector.

The conference is set to open with a keynote address and interview with Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, minister of housing, who will provide an overview of the Kingdom’s current housing market and details of the range of reforms implemented and planned by the government.

The minister will be followed by Khalid Mohammed Al-Amoudi, general director of the Real Estate Development Fund, who will deliver a keynote address on the role and plans for the new REDF and its transformation into a leading financial institution.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Al-Amoudi said: “The objectives for this conference are very clear we are bringing together all of the key industry experts in order to develop solutions that directly address the housing needs and aspirations of the Saudi people and to identify the significant opportunities that the housing sector presents, such as the key role financial institutions have in enabling Saudi citizens gain home financing, the digitization of home financing solutions and the significant investment opportunities for local and international partners.”