On its final day, Cityscape Riyadh continued to influence the Saudi real estate market, proving that it has become the premier platform in attracting great participation from local and international companies, real estate developers, consultants, architects, and industry experts. Day One, which concentrated on the residential market and the anticipation of SAMA's (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency's) finalization of the Mortgage Law, was successful in bringing to light five critical components in order to create effective regulation and allow the new law to function properly, namely enforcement of laws, efficient mortgage and deed registration, credit reporting systems, reliable valuation mechanisms and liquidity through functionality of a secondary market. With its commercial focus, Day Two of Cityscape Riyadh, was dedicated to Saudi Arabia's legal, regulatory, efficiency and sustainability issues and challenge and included discussions on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and their significance in providing affordable housing, in light of Saudi Arabia's severe housing shortage. PPP has a successful track record in a number of countries and across multiple economic sectors; from infrastructural development to transportation. Its importance rests on the idea of tapping into private sector efficiency and financial resources in order to provide needed public goods. "PPP (public private partnership) is an ideal vehicle that can open up more investment opportunities in public sector projects, in general and in the real estate sector, in particular. However, for it to be successful, we need to identify the reasons why it is being pursued, is it to genuinely establish robust partnerships or is it to off load a burden? In any case, for PPP to be successful, it needs the supporting legal, regulatory and financial mechanisms. These mechanisms are essential as they will allow for greater transparency and efficiency," Zuhair Hamzah, executive manager at Tamlik Ltd./ said. The remainder of the day included assessing the value of investing in industrial real estate projects in the Saudi market and winning strategies that can be instrumental in acquiring project financing and real estate project management techniques for greater efficiencies. Although the Saudi government is awash with liquidity, with a budget surplus estimated at SR 500 billion for this fiscal year alone, channeling that huge liquidity through well designed and sophisticated financing models that can boost market activity remains a challenge. Furthermore, identifying the right strategies in order to attract lender interest, in addition to promoting projects and developments are important areas that need to be tackled, successfully. Commenting on their first participation at a Cityscape event, Demetrios Agrios, senior project manager from Leman Project Management, said: "Cityscape provides excellent exposure for exhibitors' products and services to both existing and future customers, moreover, Cityscape gives insight into market opportunities". Commenting on the success of Cityscape Riyadh, Hussain Al-Harthy, managing director, National Exhibitions Company, organizes of the event, said: "First, I would like to thank Abdullah bin Saeed Al-Mubti, chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, for inaugurating Cityscape Riyadh 2012 and contributing to the overwhelming success of the event. It is clear that the growing importance of the Saudi real estate market, the largest in the region, is the main reasons for the success of our Cityscape events." Al-Harthy concluded by announcing that Cityscape Jeddah has also been approved by the Ministry of Commerce and the event will be held from March 2-4, 2013, continuing to play a vital role as the premier platform for local, regional, and global participants." There is no doubt that Riyadh Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event -- Cityscape Riyadh continues to be one of the leading real estate events in the Kingdom, supporting the government's vision for growth in the real estate industry, highlighting iconic architecture and innovative development, and providing direct access to the region's biggest real estate market -- Saudi Arabia. Arab News
