The government is determined to improve jobs and increase housing ownership in the Kingdom.

Amlak was widely rumored to be considering the market initiative earlier this year before the pandemic broke on the world. That put the plans on hold for a while, but the decision to go ahead with it now represents a vote of confidence in the business, in the fundamentals of the Saudi economy, and in the Kingdom’s financial markets. It can also be viewed as a belief that the recovery from the pandemic will come quickly, and will be in the

V-shape talked about by some economists — a sharp upturn to follow the opening up of economies around the world as lockdowns are lifted and some return to normality takes place — even if it is the “new normal” many experts predict.

“Saudi has a young population, the government is determined to improve jobs and increase housing ownership in the Kingdom as part of the Vision 2030 (reform plan), and we believe this is going to happen. “Our business has not been severely disrupted these past few months. There has been a limited disruption because of the curfew but origination numbers have been acceptable, even in the first half,” Al-Sudairy added.

Despite this positive outlook, the decision to press ahead with the IPO — which is being organized by the investment banking arm of the Kingdom’s premier financial institution NCB Capital — must have been weighed carefully.