Saudi Arabia's Dammam hosted The Icon Show from 16 to 19 February, under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities. The event is organized by Infinity Phoenix for organizing exhibitions and conferences. On its first day, the exhibition witnessed a great turnout from Egyptians residing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially from the city of Dammam, in addition to a large number of Saudis interested in buying real estate in Egypt. The event saw the participation of six major Egyptian real estate development companies, presenting projects ready for delivery and projects under construction, in addition to the participation of the banking sector to provide various payment systems for Egyptians and foreigners. During the exhibition, the Ministry of Housing displays investment opportunities in the areas affiliated with the New Urban Communities Authority, in addition to seminars and an international press conference to present investment opportunities in the Egyptian real estate sector. Amr Khattab, the Housing Ministry spokesperson, highlighted that the population in Egypt increases by at least 2 mn people annually, adding that Egyptians live on only 7% of the total area of Egypt, and thanks to urban expansion, this area increased to 13% of the total area of Egypt. He added that the Egyptian state already implements 24 smart cities, indicating that the number of cities is estimated at 22 cities until 2014, and this matter has been going on for 40 years, indicating that the number of new cities during the last 8 years reaches 45 cities. During the opening session, Ahmed Balhamer, Group CEO of Salem Balhamer Holding, stated that the change that occurs in Egypt during the past five years encourages investments in Egypt, adding that the Saudi investor knows the value of Egypt well because it is a solid relationship for many years, and the evidence is that Saudi investments in Egypt come in the first place as a result of mutual trust between the two countries. Mohamed Ibrahim, Director Manager of Egypt at the Arab Bank, said that the bank has a long history since 1942 in the Middle East, and has 600 branches worldwide, serving Egyptians living abroad and foreigners as well. Mohamed El Saidi, CEO of Infinity Phoenix, said that the current period is a golden opportunity for real estate export due to several factors, including low prices compared to property prices in surrounding countries, and investing in real estate in Egypt is a safe investment throughout history and has never and will never lose, as it is called "Property is the moral son. He highlighted that the selection of Dammam to hold the first edition of the exhibition came after a thorough study by the company, adding that the study concluded that 60% of business volume in Saudi Arabia is located in the eastern region, as well as most of the citizens residing in Dammam are businessmen or work in prestigious jobs with a high income and that it is one of the cities that is characterized by a high standard of living and has a large number of Egyptians, Arabs, and foreigners.
