Trump Organisation aims to expand in Saudi Arabia after starting $533m Jeddah Tower

Company plans to launch two more projects in Riyadh to grow its portfolio in the region

A rendering of Trump Tower Jeddah. YouTube screengrab / DarGlobal

The Trump Organisation aims to launch projects in Saudi Arabia as it continues to build on its closer ties with the region.

The company on Wednesday unveiled a 2 billion Saudi riyals ($533 million) residential development in Jeddah in partnership with London-listed Dar Global. It is looking to start two more projects in Riyadh, its executive vice president told The National.

The company did not announce the total cost of the Riyadh projects or their schedule but Trump Tower Jeddah will consist of about 500 units and is expected to be completed by 2029. The average price per unit at the 47-floor tower is 4 million riyals.

Saudi Arabia’s “market's thriving, you have a country that is pro-growth”, Eric Trump, said.

“The vision of Saudi Arabia, it's incredible and I encourage people to see it. Once they see it, really opens their eyes to a whole new frontier …. the vision has been among the best anywhere in the world.”

Saudi Arabia is diversifying its economy away from oil as part of the Vision 2030 initiative.

As part of the strategy, the kingdom is building real estate projects including the futuristic mega-city Neom with an investment worth $500 billion.

Saudi Arabia has also set a goal of raising home ownership rates in the kingdom to 70 per cent by 2030 under the Sakani programme – a joint initiative between the Ministry of Housing and the Real Estate Development Fund that supports and enables Saudi citizens to own their first home.

It is also encouraging multinational companies to set up their regional headquarters in the kingdom increasing demand for both commercial property as well as homes.

After the Jeddah tower, “we're looking at, obviously, well under way on two projects in Riyadh, equally as significant, maybe even possibly more. Building Jeddah is about as beautiful as it comes anywhere in the world, but what we do in Riyadh is going to really blow people away”.

The Trump Organisation, with a portfolio of real estate developments, comprising resorts, hotels, golf courses and residential properties in several countries globally, is not new to the region.

The company already has a presence in Dubai as part of a partnership with developer Damac for two golf-related developments in its Akoya project.

It has also teamed up with Dar Global for the development of a resort that will include residential villas, a hotel and a golf course in Muscat as well as a project with a hotel and branded residences in Dubai.

It aims to expand across the region with projects as part of its growth strategy, according to Mr Trump.

“The reality is the region loves our family, and the region loves our projects. When we went to Dubai, we were one of the first Western brands to go into Dubai when no one else really believed and everybody was a little sceptical and everybody was a little cynical.”

“We planted the Trump flag right there in the middle of the city, we did one of the greatest golf courses that's become, by far the most successful, golf venture anywhere in the Middle East by far, maybe anywhere in the world, or among the very top in the world. We’ve had such a great relationship with this region for so long and I think we're gonna keep on expanding.”

Meanwhile, the new Jeddah project will be sold to both international investors as well as locals, Ziad El Chaar, chief executive of Dar Global, said.

“Very big activities are happening in the kingdom in the next 10 years, like the expo 2030 and the World Cup 2034 and many others. So now there's a very big interest from the international community in investing in Saudi and we showcased the Jeddah project to brokers in 60 global cities and the interest is very big from inside Saudi and from outside Saudi.”

Residential real estate prices and rents continue to soar in Saudi Arabia. In the first half of this year, residential sales prices in Riyadh and Jeddah rose by 10 per cent and 5 per cent, on an annual basis, S&P Global Ratings reported recently, citing a JLL report. Rental yields also remained high, with year-on-year growth of 9 per cent in Riyadh and 4 per cent in Jeddah.

“We expect that demand for residential real estate will remain high, particularly in Riyadh and Jeddah, thanks to robust population growth of 3.3 per cent on average over 2024-2027, partly driven by expat inflows,” S&P, said.