Arcapita Capital Company, a subsidiary of Arcapita Group Holdings Limited, announced on Wednesday that it has closed KSA Logistics Fund III for SAR1.8 billion ($500 million).

The fund was backed by a leading sovereign wealth fund from the GCC region and other major institutional investors.

Arcapita Group has already invested a significant portion of the fund in a portfolio of industrial real estate assets across the manufacturing and warehousing sectors.

The company plans to invest the rest of the fund in strategically located assets across Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Eastern Province.

Arcapita will also develop long-term off-take arrangements with tenants, by taking a built-to-suit approach.

This fund is in alignment with Arcapita’s strategy of bringing its international expertise in industrial real estate to the Kingdom’s industrial sector to support its ambitions of becoming a global logistics hub.

Hisham Al Raee, Deputy CEO of Arcapita Group, said, “Today marks an essential milestone in our strategic expansion in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the MENA region.

We currently manage over SAR3.8 billion ($1 billion) of industrial warehousing assets in KSA and the GCC region, and our investor base includes pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and financial institutions.

The industrial and logistics sectors are key components of the Kingdom’s Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, which aims to attract SAR 40 billion ($10.6 billion) in investments.

We look forward to continuing to deploy our expertise in the industrial real estate sector to play a key role in transforming the Kingdom into a global logistics hub.”

Yousif Al Abdulla, Managing Director and Head of MENA Investment at Arcapita Group, has expressed his optimism towards the growth of Saudi Arabia’s industrial real estate market.

He believes that the market will experience substantial growth over the long term, driven by the significant and continued growth of e-commerce across the Kingdom and by strong government-led investment in infrastructure and the industrial sector.

Arcapita Group’s portfolio strategy will leverage opportunities presented by the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, as well as the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan.

Arcapita Group’s management team has managed more than SAR24.3 billion ($6.5 billion) in industrial and logistics real estate transactions globally, including over SAR5.6 billion ($1.5 billion) in the GCC region, over the past 25 years. Furthermore, Arcapita Group has a strong track record of investing in the Kingdom, with nearly SAR1.5 billion ($400 million) in investments over the past 10 years.

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The Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC) has approved a budget of AED 66 billion (USD 17.96 billion) for 2024.

The budget will be utilized across 144 projects in various sectors, including housing, education, tourism, natural resources, and quality of life.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office announced that over AED 59 billion has been assigned for housing and public facilities, including the development of communities.

AED 4 billion has been allocated to education and human capital, and over AED 1.1 billion has been designated for boosting tourism.

Additionally, AED 50 million will be used for projects focused on enhancing the emirate’s natural resources.

According to ADPIC, nearly 13,000 housing units will be developed for UAE citizens in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

The investments will also focus on developing social spaces, such as mosques, community and sports centers, retail offerings, police and civil defense facilities, parks, public spaces, walk lanes, playgrounds, and specialized cycle tracks.

ADPIC has also announced investments in the vocational training and education sectors, including capacity expansions of schools and training centers, renovations, and launching projects that support early childhood learning and human capital development.

The budget also includes allocations for creating and maintaining cultural destinations and buildings to support the emirate’s tourism sector.

To strengthen food security, a series of investments in diverse aquaculture farms, including breeding, raising, and harvesting fish and shellfish, has also been planned.

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The Ministry of Water and Irrigation has signed an agreement for the Deir Alla and Karameh water networks rehabilitation project in Balqa. 

The sixth phase of this project aims to drill 16 wells in the Abu Zyghan area, with a value of 97.24 million euros. 

The funding for this project comes from a loan provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) as well as self-finance, while the studies, design, and supervision aspects were secured through a grant from USAID. 

The project’s goal is to improve the water supply across 17 areas in Deir Alla and Karameh districts through seven different packages. 

By adopting natural flow pumping techniques, the scheme aims to extend the operational longevity of water networks, enhance service efficiency, and promote equitable water distribution. 

Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abul Saud emphasized the ministry’s dedication to speeding up the deployment of these new networks to deal with the increasing pressures of demand. 

He also reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to addressing the challenges posed by surging water demand across the Kingdom. 

The drilling of the 16 wells in Abu Zayghan, costing $13.550 million, includes an exploratory well designed to bolster water availability in Deir Alla and Karameh. 

Expressing gratitude for the international support received, the minister referred to the role of the European Union, particularly the EIB and USAID, in facilitating the financial funds necessary to implement projects to face challenges of the water sector in light of increasing demand. 

Read More on Water Projects.

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The Trump Villas at AIDA will be situated within the Trump International Golf Club, offering residents an elite membership to the club and sea views from an elevation of over 130 meters.

The project will provide a range of world-class amenities, including a clubhouse, expansive parks, and recreational spaces.

Property owners will receive a Trump-branded golf cart.

This development in Oman is not the only one bearing the Trump name in the Gulf; he has also put his name on a gated community in DAMAC Hills in Dubai through a deal with Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani.

AIDA is a development located in Muscat, near five UNESCO world heritage destinations, and surrounded by sharp cliffs, curvaceous valleys, hilltops, and the Arabian Gulf.

The site will also host five-star hotels, including Ritz Carlton, Jumeirah Hotels, and Shangri-La. Dar Global has recently listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Donald Trump’s presence in the Gulf:

Former US President Donald Trump has previously invested in real estate projects in the Gulf, particularly in Dubai, through a partnership with Damac Group in 2015.

Trump’s business presence in the oil-rich Gulf region has now expanded with a new project in Oman, despite ongoing scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest.

Challenges within MENA for Donald Trump:

There have been accusations of conflicts of interest regarding Trump’s involvement in real estate developments across the Gulf, particularly due to his close relationships with countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE during his presidency according to OmanMoments.

Despite his promise not to initiate new foreign deals during his time in office, his businesses continued to benefit from pre-existing agreements in nations such as Turkey, the Philippines, and India.

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A new report by consulting firm Oliver Wyman reveals that the commercial aviation fleet is expected to grow by 28% in the next decade, from 28,400 to 36,400 aircraft by 2034.

The Middle East region will see an even more significant increase of 51% from 1,472 to 2,227 planes.

However, COVID-19 has had a lasting impact on the industry, wiping out six years of growth, and the fleet is expected to reach 39,000 planes by 2036.

According to Anthony DiNota, Vice President of Oliver Wyman’s CAVOK, the industry is finally out of recovery mode and on a growth trajectory.

The report also suggests that the Middle East will gain a larger share of the global fleet, due to factors such as its central location, strong established players in the market, and the addition of new players.

The region’s economic diversification plans will also play a significant role in fueling the growth of the aviation industry.

The report further predicts that the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector will grow by almost 3% in 2024, reaching $104 billion.

It is expected to expand by an average of 1.8% annually The forecast has revealed some key findings regarding the aviation industry worldwide.

Firstly, the industry has now matched its pre-COVID peak globally, but growth moving forward will be slower.

The fleet is expected to expand at a rate of 2.5% annually, compared to the 2.9% projected in the previous forecast.

Narrowbodies will see a steady increase in their share of the fleet, rising from 61% in 2024 to 63% in 2034. The growth is driven by the resurgence of domestic air travel worldwide, which is projected to surpass the pre-COVID peak.

Secondly, the Middle East fleet is projected to grow at an annual rate of 4.2% from 2024 to 2034, outstripping growth rates in most parts of the world, including Africa (2.3%), Latin America (1.9%), North America (1.8%), and Western Europe (1.0%). Narrowbodies will be the primary driver of this growth.

In this region, narrowbodies will climb from 40% to 47% of the fleet over the decade, while widebodies will decrease from 56% to 50%.

Thirdly, India will overtake China as the industry’s growth leader for the first time ever, with the Indian fleet expected to expand almost 13% over the first five years of the forecast period and nearly 10% for the entire 10 years. Currently at about 600 planes, the Indian fleet will be 2.5 times the size it is today by 2034.

Lastly, the aviation’s global aftermarket, known as MRO, keeps aircraft flying. The overall MRO market in the Middle East is expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.3% (vs. 1.8% globally) from 2023 to 2034 and will be driven by local capabilities development to capture value leakage. It is slated to be worth nearly $16 billion by 2034 (vs. $124 billion globally).ion globally).

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The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources reported a 10 percent increase in industrial body units in Saudi Arabia, rising to 11,549 in 2023.

Jarrah bin Mohammed Al-Jarrah, spokesman for the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources stated:

As per the statement by the spokesperson of the ministry, 11,549 factories have received new licenses for 25 industrial activities.

The total estimated investment in these activities is SAR1.541 trillion (USD 399 billion).

The top four activities that received licenses are food products manufacturing, non-metallic mineral products manufacturing, formed metal products manufacturing, and rubber and plastic products manufacturing.

The highest number of industrial licenses totaling 1,043 were issued to National establishments.

licenses were issued to joint and foreign investments 336 with 142 and 194 respectively.’

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources releases industrial indicating data monthly through the National Industrial and Mining information center.

SMEs accounted for the overwhelming majority of the licenses issued accounting for the kingdom’s efforts to support rising businesses which totaled to:

The number of licenses depending on enterprise size:

• Micro-sized enterprises: 15 licenses.
• Small-sized establishments: 1,203 licenses.
• Medium-sized establishments: 158 licenses.
• Large-sized establishments: 3 licenses.

licenses per region:

• Riyadh region: the region had the highest number of licenses issued at 479.
• Eastern region: the second highest number of licenses issued at 340.
• Makkah region: the second highest number of licenses issued at 269.
• Qassim region: the fourth highest number of licenses issued at 87.
• Madinah region: the least number of licenses issued at 79.

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EDGNEX, a company owned by DAMAC in Dubai, is working with Vodafone to build a data center in Izmir, Turkey.

The company announced in a press statement that:

• They plan to allocate USD100 million to the data center with a capacity of 6 megawatts (5 megawatts is enough to support 2,000 servers).
• The project is estimated to be completed by the year 2025.

Quotes about the data center in Turkey:

Aqil Ali, Vice President of EDGNEX, DAMAC said that The Eastern Mediterranean region has a high demand for data centers, making Izmir, one of the largest and oldest cities in Turkey, an ideal location to meet this need,”

Engin Aksoy, CEO of Vodafone Turkey, said the partnership aims to develop data center facilities in Turkey and international markets.

He added that the company plans to grow exponentially with investments in data centers, cloud solutions, cyber security, mobile private networks, and IoT over the next five years.

He also stated “We believe that Turkey should take part in this rising economy. It remains crucial to invest in reliable and high-capacity data centers for cloud computing,”

The statement said the data center will employ the most recent tech and adhere to Tier 3 requirements, promising a 99.982 percent uptime, total redundant Ness, and fault tolerance.

The planned data center will act as a bridge connecting the Middle Eastern region to Europe through cross-ocean and terrestrial cables.

EDGNEX is a company established by the Dubai-based DAMAC Group, it is a multi-tenant data center provider supporting hyperscale wholesale and retail colocation across the Middle East and Europe.

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Ford Middle East announced increased sales which surged by 63% compared to 2022 numbers across the region.

The UAE is one of the biggest markets for Ford in the region with vehicles such as:

Taurus, F-150, Territory and Explorer are the most purchased ones, with Ford Territory taking the number one spot in Ford’s collection as the second bestselling vehicle in the Middle East.

The Middle East has 40-plus vehicles that fall in the Small-SUV category, which makes it a highly competitive scene.

Ravi Ravichandran, President of Ford Middle East said “In many ways, 2023 was a milestone year for Ford in the Middle East,” “This is not the result of one year, but the efforts made over two.”

“we developed a strong strategy for our product offerings, working hand in glove with our distributor partners and taking care of our team, all of which contributed to our record sales across the region.

“Last year saw tremendous economic growth in the UAE, and we saw this reflected in the automotive sector’s strong overall growth, “with an estimated 3.5% rise in real GDP – predicted to reach 4% in 2024 – we were privileged to witness the UAE’s success firsthand. At Ford” he added.

“With an estimated 3.5% rise in real GDP – predicted to reach 4% in 2024 – we were privileged to witness the UAE’s success firsthand. He announced.

Saudi Arabia was another destination in the Middle East that the company sale reported increases in, with retail figures increasing by 77% since 2022.

The Data has been collected from the Automotive Manufacturers Business Group (AMBG) in the Middle East.

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• He stated that the Ministry of oil has prepared a draft for renewable energy law and is already waiting for approval by the parliament.
• Iraq is also planning to build a 130-megawatt solar power plant in south Iraq in addition to the Hydrogen plant.

Hayan Abdel Ghani, Iraq’s oil minister said that Iraq is planning to build its first green Hydrogen plant with a production capacity of 800 tons per year, “as part of a post war strategy to gradually switch to renewable energy” he added.

During his participation in the ninth Iraq International Energy Exhibition and Conference (IEE), Abdul-Ghani said that the government has begun the first tender to implement carbon conservation projects to reduce gas flaring in Baghdad’s eastern field, which has a capacity of 12 million cubic feet.

He also said in an energy conference in Baghdad on Monday that the project is planned to be set up in south Iraq and it includes a 130-megawatts solar power plant in addition to the hydrogen plant.

“The Oil Ministry has started taking steps to build a green hydrogen plant to be owned by the South Refineries Company,” he informed Iraqi publications.

The oil minister stated that his Ministry has prepared a draft for renewable energy law and sent it to the Iraqi parliament for approval.

Green hydrogen is created by electrolyzing water molecules to separate them into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy sources like solar or wind power, has a large potential for production in Iraq.

The country is rich in renewable energy resources especially solar and wind energy, projects may be developed due to the windy and solar filled region, current plans are being set to secure Iraq to be more dependent on green energy.

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Lucid Motors Group is planning to produce nearly 5,000 electric cars per year at its plant in the Western Red Sea port of Saudi Arabia according to its Marketing and communication vice president.

He added that “We will soon launch the second production phase at the plant in Jeddah, with a capacity of 5,000 assembled cars in 2024,”

Firas Kandalaft, Marketing Director of Lucid Motors in the Middle East told the Saudi daily Aliqtisadia at the weekend that the Company has produced mainly car parts and assembled a small number of the Lucid vehicles since it launched its first plant outside the US in the King Abdullah Economic City in 2023.

“We will soon launch the second production phase at the plant in Jeddah, with a capacity of 5,000 assembled cars in 2024,” he announced.

After launching its first international manufacturing facility in Jeddah in 2023, Lucid Motors Vice President in Saudi Arabia, Faisal Sultan said that the plant produced nearly 50 cars in the first week of the plant’s operation.

Following the opening of their Jeddah facility, CEO and CTO of Lucid Group, Peter Rawlinson said

We are delighted to make history today in Saudi Arabia by opening the country’s first car manufacturing facility, which will produce our award-winning electric vehicles and support the country’s vision for a more sustainable and diversified economy,”

He added “As Saudi charges toward its Vision 2030, our facility will pave the way for the country’s electric automotive industry and the expansion of the supply chain.

Lucid Motors is aiming to produce an estimated number of 155,000 vehicles per year is Saudi Arabia

Lucid Motors Group is an American manufacturer of electric spots and luxury cars, headquartered in California, the company was founded in 2007.

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