IIB KSA owns an equity stake in Ewaan Global Residential Company – EGRC, a leading real estate development company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. EGRC was established through a strategic partnership with some of the strongest financial and development institutions in the region and is collectively owned by the Islamic Corporation for Private Sector Development (the investment arm of the Islamic Development Bank – IDB), Al Numu Real Estate Company (a subsidiary of SEDCO), The Saudi Public Pension Agency, IIB KSA, and other leading organisations.
EGRC core activity is the development of high quality and affordable residential communities in the region, mainly targeting the middle income sector. Ewan Global Residential Company – EGRC, is the main developer of the Al Fareeda Project, strategically located in the north of Jeddah. The project is being built on 1.1 million square meters of land. The Al Fareeda Project will consist of more than 1,750 residential villas of various sizes, commercial spaces and service amenities such as schools, a sport centre, mosques, recreation areas and shopping complexes.
EGRC is also currently developing its second residential community – Al Miyar Project, adjacent to Al Fareeda and will consist of apartments for sale. Furthermore, a new project is under consideration in Jubail, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, to develop a 100 villa residential compound.
EGRC is well positioned within the Saudi market as it enjoys a strong cash position, thus allowing it to invest its own resources into development, diversification and growth of its business in Saudi Arabia. EGRC achieved a net income of SR 27.2 million for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 and its Board of Directors have recommended a dividend distribution to the shareholders, which was approved during the AGM held in March 2013.
“We are pleased to announce the second consecutive dividend distribution to IIB KSA investors after strong performance of EGRC in 2012. With robust support from the government, the Saudi residential real estate market in recent years has become one of the most attractive avenues for investing in the middle-income property sector. At IIB, our key consideration in investment decisions is the potential for sustainable value growth and as one of the regional market leaders, IIB strongly believes in partnering with companies that share our vision and one such investment is EGRC,” Aabed Al-Zeera, IIB CEO and Board Member, said.
IIB maintains a diverse portfolio of global investments covering the geographies of France, Germany, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the UK, across various sectors including manufacturing, automotive, real estate, banking and retail. The Bank undertakes two core business activities – private equity and real estate – and aims to offer its clients an internationally diversified range of investments generated through its network of strategic partnerships, which it intensively manages on behalf of investors in order to maximise the yields at the time of exit. IIB has been involved in investments worth $3billion since its inception.