Saudi Arabia opens real estate fund trading to expats

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) board has given the green light to foreigners in the Kingdom to trade Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) on the Saudi bourse.

Saudi Arabia opens real estate fund trading to expats

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The CMA published the final version of the Reit instructions on its website on Sunday.

The document covers the management, operation and ownership of the funds.

The regulator defined Reits as a real estate investment fund that is publicly offered and the units of which can be traded on Saudi’s Tadawul stock-exchange.

It added that the main purpose of the fund is to invest in real estate construction in a bid to generate regular income.

This includes residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and other types of real estates.

The CMA also set out rules where the fund must pay a percentage of the vehicle’s net profit in cash to unit holders at least once a year.

Fund managers must also appoint a regulated property management company to deal with the real estate held for investment.

However, the rules point out that the fund manager can sign a leasing contract to manage and maintain the property during the leasing contract period, said the report.

CMA said the move is part of the Kingdom’s National Transformation Plan to develop its capital markets and diversify investment opportunities in the country.

Announced earlier this year, the plan set out how Saudi Arabia will more than triple its non-oil revenue, cut state handouts and create more than 450,000 new jobs in the private sector over the next few years.

As part of the country’s economic overhaul, the CMA said it will continue to provide “new investment channels”, update relevant regulation and seek to raise the standards of asset management professionals by introducing new qualifications.