$500 million Siraj Hospitality Investment Company launched to invest in King Abdullah Economic City

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The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Siraj Capital Ltd. and DTZ of the UK, announced the launch of ‘Siraj Hospitality Investment Company’ (SHIC), with a paid up capital of $500 million. SHIC will invest in a number of hotels in the King Abdullah Economic City.

Emaar Properties, the world’s largest real estate company, was the first to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SHIC, expressing its intention to invest $75 million in the company.

In addition to investing in resorts, hotels, motels, recreational and entertainment facilities, SHIC will focus on developing conference and exhibition centers.

The MOU to form SHIC was signed at a special ceremony in Riyadh by His Excellency Governor of SAGIA Amr Al-Dabbagh, Chairman of Siraj Capital Dr. Ghassan Al-Sulaiman, and CEO of DTZ Corporate Finance Simon Berrill.

“SAGIA will play a key role in facilitating the establishment of SHIC and will provide ongoing assistance. This company will herald a new era for hospitality investments and development. The region’s hospitality industry is expected to witness tremendous growth in the coming years and SHIC will be ideally placed to contribute to this growth,” commented Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh.

Emaar Properties’ commitment includes the investment of no less than $75 million in SHIC. Mr. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said: “We share HE Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh’s vision and Emaar looks forward to playing a key role in the development of the hospitality sector through the unique investment opportunity provided by SHIC.”

Dr. Ghassan Al-Sulaiman, Chairman of Siraj Capital, said: “We are proud to work with SAGIA and DTZ to launch such an attractive initiative and we welcome the involvement of Emaar Properties. We look forward to the long-term economic benefits that the operations of SHIC will result in, through the development of the hospitality industry within the Kingdom and across the region.”

Mr. Simon Berrill, CEO, DTZ Corporate Finance said: “The launch of the fund augurs well for the hospitality industry in the region, which is currently in a high growth phase. The fund will play the role of a catalyst to spur further investments into this sector to meet the ever growing demand of both internal and external tourism.”

The launch of Siraj Hospitality Investment Company and the signing of the Siraj Capital-Emaar MOU comes at a time when Saudi Arabia is on the verge of a major hospitality growth phase, driven by a fast growing and young population and the Government’s drive to attract more visitors.

© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)