The Big Reform reshapes Saudi’s real estate market in 2025

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

And a happy new year

For the final time in 2025: Good morning, friends. We hope you all enjoy ringing in the new year — and a restful few days of vacation with family and friends — before kicking off 2026 in earnest.

** EnterpriseAM Saudi will be off on Thursday. We’ll be back in your inboxes at our customary time on Sunday, 4 January.

Real estate is front and center in today’s issue: We lead with a beefy story where we see what the pundits think of The Big Reform of real estate in 2025. A flurry of intervention measures came during the year to restore the balance and address an affordability crisis that hit Riyadh the worst, shaping decisions of landowners and strategies of real estate investors.

BUT FIRST- A flare-up in tensions to the south: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen hit Mukalla port with a limited airstrike, targeting what Riyadh described as weapons and heavy-vehicle shipments aboard two vessels arriving from Fujairah. The first has been identified as the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged Greenland, a RoRo vessel.

“The ships’ crew had disabled tracking devices aboard the vessels, and unloaded a large amount of weapons and combat vehicles in support of the Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) forces,” a statement published by state news agency SPA said. The Kingdom says it made the move to combat the STC’s military advances on its southern border with Yemen, which it deemed a “threat to the national security of the Kingdom.”

A heated exchange: Presidential council head of the Aden-based central government Rashad Al Alimi accused the UAE of “pressuring” the STC to “undermine and rebel against the authority of the state.” Al Alimi also announced that Yemen is canceling its defense pact with the UAE. The UAE Foreign Ministry issued a statement denying claims of contributing to tensions in the country, asserting the targeted vessel didn’t contain any weapons and the vehicles were destined for Emirati forces in Yemen. The statement stressed support for Saudi Arabia’s “sovereignty and national security” and noted that the Aden-based government had requested its presence in the country.

UAE will pull its remaining troops: A separate Defense Ministry statement reported by Wam said the UAE is pulling its final counter-terrorism teams from Yemen after withdrawing its main military presence in 2019.

Background: The STC — which the UAE has in the past backed — seized power across southern Yemen earlier this month in a major move analysts were concerned could potentially split the country into two states for the first time in decades. A UAE official told Reuters at the time that the UAE’s position on Yemen “is in line with Saudi Arabia in supporting a political process” that is based on UN resolutions.

WEATHER- A haze of dust and sand is forecast to blanket the Eastern Region, the Northern Borders Province, Hail, and Al Qassim, reducing visibility across the northern belt, while the rest of the Kingdom is set for clearer weather.

Riyadh: 17°C high / 7°C low.
Jeddah: 29°C high / 20°C low.
Makkah: 29°C high / 18°C low.
Dammam: 20°C high / 10°C low.

Watch this space

STARTUP WATCH — M&A activity is heating up for Saudi startups: The Kingdom’s venture capital scene is shifting toward mergers and acquisitions, the natural evolution of the ecosystem’s “build phase,” venture capitalist and ecosystem builder Ahmed Thukair tells EnterpriseAM.

Thukair argues that the trend signals a deeper maturity. “We are now seeing the first generation of true scale-ups,” Thukair said, adding that M&A has become an “increasingly viable path” for founder exits, recycling talent, and innovation, even as public listing appeal wanes.

The push factors: Stock market weakness, tighter valuation scrutiny, and a desire to avoid public market volatility are dampening the appeal of IPOs, Merak Capital’s CEO Abdullah Altamami told Bloomberg. “Buyers are more interested in companies before they go public, because once they go public, they’re more expensive,” he added.

Consolidation ahead: Thukair identifies fintech and logistics as the sectors most ripe for consolidation for M&A, with e-commerce enablement also showing potential. “We’re now at a point where market leaders will begin to emerge through strategic acquisitions, consolidating market share and creating more defensible businesses,” he said.

A new playbook for founders: The focus now is on achieving “efficient growth,” Thukair says: scaling sustainably with strong unit economics and a clear line of sight to profitability. This approach positions a startup for both acquisitions and IPOs, as public markets now scrutinize profitability similarly to buyers. “The ultimate goal is to build a resilient, valuable company, which keeps all options on the table,” he said.

IPO WATCH — Another Nomu IPO in the pipeline: The Capital Market Authority (CMA) greenlit Al Rahden to list on the parallel market, approving the sale of 3.52 mn shares to qualified investors, according to a market statement. The offering represents a 20% stake in the laundry, kitchen, and hygiene equipment supplier. The approval is valid for six months.

Reality check: While CMA cleared Hamad Mohammed Al-Drees & Partners for Industry and Mining for a Nomu listing last week, Five Nomu IPOs were canceled this year, while two others saw their six-month approval windows lapse without proceeding. The only ongoing Nomu IPO from KDL Logistics was 102% covered, marking a sharp contrast with last year’s heavy oversubscription rates and first-day pops. NomuC remains down roughly 27% YTD.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

A couple of stories are making headlines on the last morning of 2025:

#1- Warner Bros Discovery is reportedly leaning toward rejecting Paramount Skydance’s amended USD 108.4 bn hostile takeover bid, despite a personal financing guarantee from Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Reuters reports citing a person familiar with the matter. The board still favors a lower-value USD 82.7 bn merger with Netflix, viewing it as a path of least resistance with fewer regulatory hurdles.

#2- Fed minutes reveal a central bank at a crossroads: Minutes (pdf) from the Fed’s December meeting showed a committee deeply fractured over the path for 2026, especially when it comes to the timing and size of the cuts to come. While officials voted 9-3 to lower rates to 3.5%-3.75%, the record shows some members only supported the cut by a “fine balance,” while others argued for a hold.

The Big Reform of Saudi’s real estate market in 2025

2025 was the year Riyadh’s red-hot real estate market met its regulatory ceiling. After apartment prices doubled in six years, the government stepped in with a flurry of reforms — rent freezes, a 10% white land tax, and easing foreign ownership rules — to force a correction.

It’s been a busy year: The Capital Markets Authority relaxed ownership rules for listed firms with holy city real estate assets, followed by the amendment to the White Land Tax Law in April, which hiked the rate to 10%, coinciding with the lifting of a land freeze on 81.5 sq km in Northern Riyadh. July saw the Cabinet approve the Foreign Property Ownership Law, and later in September, rent controls were implemented in Riyadh alongside the launch of the Tawazoun Platform to offer residential plots at capped prices.

Behind the interventions

The flurry of intervention measures came to restore the balance between supply and demand in the market, CEO of Coldwell Banker Saudi Arabia Youssef Khattar tells EnterpriseAM. A severe rise in prices of lands and units has negatively impacted everyone: landowners, developers, and Saudi citizens as the end users, Khattar said.

Affordability is the key word. Apartment prices nearly doubled over six years and villa prices rose by 50%, while “salaries have not necessarily kept pace,” resulting in a 30% drop in Riyadh sales volumes, MENA head of research Faisal Durrani tells us. Skyrocketing land costs also left developers with “little choice but to focus on luxury housing” to remain viable, while tenants faced 40% rent hikes.

Getting priorities straight: “The goal of getting the home ownership rate to 70% is probably more important than having huge flows of international FDI,” Durrani says, adding that prioritizing the domestic buyer shifts the goal toward ensuring housing remains a social utility rather than an inaccessible luxury.

White Land fees are putting the pressure on landowners

With the first invoices for White Land fees set to be issued tomorrow, the new tax on large undeveloped swaths of land in Riyadh is expected to pressure landowners into changing their game.

The tax hike ended the “buy and hold” model for land, leading to price corrections of up to 20% in some areas as speculations and complex family-owned plots become financially unsustainable, Durrani said. Prices went down even further by 40% in areas where supply was plenty, and Northern Riyadh was one of the areas that saw significant drops in prices as it had large swaths of undeveloped land, Khattar says.

Competition for the investor’s money is getting fierce: Landowners are increasingly entering into partnerships where they offer the land in-kind, spurring a race by developers to snap up the best opportunities as prices drop, Khattar says. “Funds have become very selective now. Landowners might face a slight crisis in attracting investors because opportunities are plentiful, and investors must choose the best ones based on location and land price,” Khattar says.

BUT- Developing just for the sake of avoiding fees is not a good move, and landowners still have to weigh projects against market demand and pricing. “The vast majority of existing projects in the Kingdom are managed by real estate funds, and funds will not invest in a project unless there is economic and financial feasibility,” he added.

To sell or not to sell, that’s the question

“A predictable consequence has been that many landowners are trying to sell because it’s no longer financially viable for them to hold the land,” Durrant said. Still, many plots are held in complex structures, making subdivision and sale challenging.

It depends on the landowner. “Individuals who inherit lands lean more toward selling, especially under the pressure of a tax, even if they will have to lower the price slightly to meet the market,” Khattar says. Meanwhile, companies and business people opt towards developing the land themselves or entering partnerships through real estate funds to realize more gains, he added.

Stopping the rent extravaganza in Riyadh

The five-year rent freeze in Riyadh on both new and existing contracts capped increases at September 2025 levels. The regulations mandate automatic lease renewals and restrict evictions to specific valid reasons, aiming to provide stability in a market where apartment rents had recently surged by 30-40% over the past 2-3 years.

We’re starting to see the impact — albeit slowly. Before the intervention, housing and utilities were the primary drivers of Saudi inflation, with rents rising 10.6% in 2024. By November 2025, the monthly growth in housing-related costs cooled to 4.3% y-o-y, the lowest reading since October 2022 and a significant drop from the 7.8% peak seen the previous year, though it was still mainly driven by housing rent increases.

Contrary to fears of deterring capital, Durrani argues the rent freeze strengthens the market by shielding it from speculative “flippers”. Rental yields “remain stable, and they are certainly more attractive than many other places in the world,” Durrani said. High organic demand from a young population provides long-term investment prospects that outweigh short-term yield limitations in the Kingdom, especially as many international economies face uncertainty, he added.

The missing middle: Build-to-rent

Durrani identified one of the gaps in Saudi’s market in 2025 as the lack of professionally managed build-to-rent housing. An influx of around 250k young Saudis into Riyadh has created demand not for four-bedroom villas, but for studios and one-bedroom apartments, yet developers remain largely locked into a build-to-sell model. “This type of professionally managed build-to-rent stock is common in major cities like London, New York, Dubai, or Singapore, but in Saudi, we don’t have that in large volumes… We see this as a big area of opportunity that developers are not yet looking at,” said Durrani.

Hello, foreign investors

Khattar thinks the Real Estate Foreign Ownership Law will be a major factor in reshaping real estate strategies in 2026, and the impact will largely depend on details of how the law will be implemented, set to be revealed in late January. “If a decision allows foreign ownership in Makkah, the strategic map of Makkah changes. Likewise, if foreign ownership is restricted to certain zones in Riyadh, landowners within those zones will consider projects targeting foreign segments, while other landowners will opt to redevelop products to target Saudis.”

Foreign demand is expected to be “sticky” and non-speculative, particularly in the Holy Cities. Knight Frank’s survey showed that 84% of Muslim high-net-worth investors prioritize Makkah and Madinah, driven by “human reasons linked to religion and culture” rather than financial yield. These buyers represent long-term, lifestyle-driven commitments rather than fast-moving capital.

Khattar agrees: “I don’t expect us to see speculation in the form we see in Dubai or other countries, where you buy and sell while the property is still under construction,” he says. Still, the huge increase in demand in Makkah and Madinah relative to the limited supply of residential units is expected to increase prices considerably.

Beyond these hubs, initial demand will likely stem from resident expats awaiting further regulatory clarity, Durrani said.

The influx of foreign buyers is also expected to spur intense competition regarding payment plans, Khattar says. The impact will depend on many factors, including whether real estate financing will be available for foreigners, and whether assets owned by non-Saudis will qualify for getting asset-backed financing from banks, Khattar added.

To spur FDI growth, the kingdom will also need to establish strong investor protections, including escrow accounts and international banking partnerships, Durrani said.

The 2026 outlook

Khattar thinks it’s too early in the game to talk about 2026 with any certainty. While changes in demand can be fast, development projects need two-to-three years before generating a substantial supply of residential or commercial units. Increasing supply will also be balanced by even more demand to meet the needs of upcoming global events, including the 2027 Asian Cup, the 2030 Expo, and the 2034 World Cup, Khattar said.

Recalibration of gigaprojects is expected to redirect significant liquidity into other developments with greater impact on main cities, Khattar says. “Today, King Salman Gate is more attractive for investors than Neom, […] which is more of a qualitative project targeting specific investments in technology and energy rather than increasing supply or resolving housing problems.” Redirecting liquidity strategically to fewer projects reflects more positively on major cities and the economy as a whole, he added.

Caution is the name of the game: Developers are now in a wait-and-see crouch, reluctant to buy until a new price floor is established, creating a temporary vacuum that will shape the market in 1H 2026, Durrani says. They recognize the long-term need — by 2034, Saudi Arabia will require 830k homes for a growing population — but opt to wait for price stability before committing to new projects.

AlUla joins the unfreezing wave, activating land sales in its center and south

AlUla has entered the “release” phase of the government’s playbook — following a strategy refined this year in Riyadh. The Royal Commission for AlUla has lifted the suspension on land sales and building permits in the central and southern districts, reopening the door for owners to trade, subdivide, and build, state news agency SPA reports.

This is the third major unfreeze this year. In April, the government lifted restrictions on 81.5 sq km in northern Riyadh, followed by 33.2 sq km in western Riyadh in October. The playbook has been to halt speculative construction, roll out infrastructure and zoning, then release land back to the market.

Only after the “plan” and “infrastructure” phases

The plan: AlUla operates under one of the Kingdom’s strictest planning schemes. Design codes mandate adherence to vernacular architecture to preserve heritage sightlines — a bar that makes development there more expensive.

The infrastructure: Infrastructure and utility upgrades are already in motion, including expanded power generation, five water storage facilities, and the 500 MW South AlUla solar project. Transport capacity is also being scaled up, with terminal upgrades at AlUla International Airport and plans for a 22.4-km tram line with 17 stations linking the airport to heritage areas.

What’s in it for AlUlaians?

This is a long-awaited liquidity moment, where local owners, previously locked out of monetizing their land, can now sell — drawing interest from hospitality developers seeking exposure to the gigaproject.

IN CONTEXT- The Royal Commission for AlUla has secured five years of development funding and plans to roll out SAR 6 bn in projects to private sector participation. The pipeline was not affected by government spending recalibration and is geared toward accommodating population growth and attracting 1 mn visitors annually by 2030, Chief Tourism Officer Phillip Jones said back in October.

Saudi faces GCC’s heaviest debt wall with USD 174.5 bn due by 2030

The Kingdom faces the GCC’s largest debt maturity load through 2030, with USD 174.5 bn coming due over the next five years. Of that total, USD 19.9 bn is due next year, according to Kamco Invest’s GCC Fixed Income Market Update (pdf).

The profile is overwhelmingly sovereign-led, with the government accounting for USD 106.4 bn of the total as it manages deficit financing tied to megaproject spending. This means the new year’s debt calendar will likely be led by deficit-driven issuance.

Anticipated rate cuts are likely to push borrowers to lock in lower rates for their refinancing needs. Kamco Invest forecasts that GCC central banks will continue to slash rates in line with the US Fed due to pegged currencies, projecting a general 50 bps cut across the region. Specific data for Saudi suggests an expected cut of 57 bps in 2026, which would bring the rate down to 3.68% by December 2026. Saudi’s repo rate was cut by 75 bps in 2025, ending the year at 4.25%. The report notes minimal pressure on currency pegs and expects monetary policies to remain largely stable and supportive of the region’s sizable projects market.

Saudi remained the largest debt issuer in the GCC in 2025, raising USD 82 bn, including USD 10.6 bn in perpetual instruments. Nonetheless, the Kingdom’s total issuance fell 18.3% y-o-y from USD 100.3 bn in 2024 as funding needs normalized. After skipping the green market last year, Saudi made a comeback in 2025 raising USD 5.1 bn, trailing only the UAE’s USD 5.6 bn.

Zooming out

The GCC faces a USD 508.1 bn maturity through 2030, of which USD 85.4 bn is due next year. Refinancing demand could generate roughly USD 85.4 bn in new issuance in 2026.

Total GCC issuance came in at USD 206.6 bn in 2025 — a year marked by higher corporate participation at USD 128.6 bn and lower government debt at USD 77.9 bn. While the region’s sukuk issuance faltered, going down 19.1% y-o-y to USD 81. 4 bn, the bond market hit its highest level on record at USD 125.2 bn, up 17.9% y-o-y.

Financial services carry the region’s largest sector risk, with USD 210.4 bn due, representing 79.9% of all corporate maturities through 2030. Meanwhile, energy has USD 21.8 bn in maturities (8.3% of corporate total), and utilities and industrials are exposed to USD 19 bn in combined maturities.

Alramz to set up real estate fund with SNB + Mawani backs Jubail Commercial Port upgrade

Alramz deploys IPO strategy with SAR 2.5 bn Riyadh project

Tadawul newcomer Alramz Real Estate is wasting no time in deploying its IPO strategy, inking an agreement to set up a shariah-compliant real estate investment fund managed by SNB Capital to lead a SAR 2.5 bn residential project in Riyadh, it said in a Tadawul disclosure yesterday. The developer is delivering on its pledge to use around 36% of IPO proceeds to seed real estate funds.

The terms: The agreement structure sees Alramz contributing SAR 105 mn into the fund to develop the Rabwa Alramz project in the Al Safa district. The firm is developing a 219.1k sqm plot owned by Awj Real Estate. In exchange for developing 1.3k units, Alramz secures a 10% development fee and a 2.5% marketing fee on total sales, locking in revenue regardless of the final earnings split.

Mawani backs Jubail Commercial Port upgrade

Arabian Chemical Terminals will build storage facilities for the handling and export of chemicals and petrochemicals at the Jubail Commercial Port, after securing a land lease contract worth over SAR 500 mn from the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). The development will take place on a 49k sqm plot and will deliver 70k cubic meters in total storage capacity, Mawani said in a statement yesterday.

The project will serve as a gateway for Saudi exports and imports to global markets, supporting King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam.

Private equity turns inward as continuation agreements hit record levels

Private equity is selling to itself at scale. Buyout firms routed a record share of exits through so-called continuation vehicles in 2025, as weak IPO markets and cautious buyers kept traditional sales out of reach, Financial Times reports.

About one in five PE exits this year used continuation structures, up from roughly 12-13% in 2024. Advisers estimate USD 100-107 bn of assets have moved through these vehicles in 2025 — an annual record — with even large, previously cautious managers such as EQT now planning to use the structure for select holdings.

This isn’t new. As we’ve previously noted, continuation agreements have been on the rise as IPO markets froze and other exit routes narrowed. While global IPOs saw a modest rebound in 9M 2025 — led by Saudi Arabia and other MENA countries — exits in the US and Europe remain patchy, keeping self-sales in play.

Why it works: Continuation agreements let managers return some capital without fully exiting, keeping exposure to assets they still back. One adviser called them a “popular and effective [triple-W] liquidity solution in a stressed exit environment,” with valuations still recovering from 2024 lows.

These vehicles can reset economics on ageing assets, creating fresh fee streams and extending performance upside at a time when full exits remain hard to execute.

Still, some pension funds remain uneasy about conflicts when firms act as both seller and buyer. Bain found nearly two-thirds of PE investors still prefer traditional exits — trade sales or IPOs — even as self-sales become more common.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

2025 is ending on another mixed note for Asia-Pacific markets, which are broadly down in early trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is down, while mainland China’s CSI 300 is beginning to trade up after as fresh data shows manufacturing activity in China rose for December — a first since March. Japan and South Korea’s markets are closed for the day. Wall Street looks set to open in the red, with futures trading down.

TASI	10,382	-1.0% (YTD: -13.8%)
MSCI Tadawul 30	1,378	-0.8% (YTD: -8.7%)
NomuC	23,041	-1.0% (YTD: -26.8%)
USD : SAR (SAMA)	USD 3.75 Sell	USD 3.75 Buy
Interest rates	4.25% repo	3.75% reverse repo
EGX30	41,690	-0.1% (YTD: +40.2%)
ADX	9,964	-1.0% (YTD: +5.8%)
DFM	6,015	-2.0% (YTD: +16.6%)
S&P 500	6,896	-0.1% (YTD: +17.3%)
FTSE 100	9,941	+0.8% (YTD: +21.6%)
Euro Stoxx 50	5,796	+0.8% (YTD: +18.4%)
Brent crude	USD 61.25	-0.1%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.94	-0.8%
Gold	USD 4,381	-0.1%
BTC	USD 88,236	+1.1% (YTD: -5.6%)
Sukuk/bond market index	911.32	-0.06% (YTD: +1.02%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	151.88	+0.1% (YTD: +8.5%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	14.33	+0.9% (YTD: -17.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 1% yesterday on turnover of SAR 3.2 bn. The index is down 13.8% YTD.

In the green: Sedco Capital Reit (+2.7%), Chubb (+2.7%) and Care (+1.7%).

In the red: Almasar Alshamil (-8.4%), Raoom (-6.8%) and Alkhaleej Training and Education (-6.6%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell 1%yesterday on turnover of SAR 18.7 mn. The index is down 26.8% YTD.

In the green: Apico (+11.7%), Balsam Medical (+8.9%) and Mayar (+7.1%).

In the red: SMC (-9.7%), Osool and Bakheet (-9.6%) and Al Naqool (-8.8%).

CALENDAR

DECEMBER

31 December (Wednesday): Zatca 22nd E-invoicing integration wave deadline.

31 December (Wednesday): Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Financial Penalties Initiative by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca) deadline.

2026

JANUARY

1 January (Thursday): Title deed registration deadline for 54k properties in 77 neighborhoods across Riyadh, Makkah, and the Eastern Province.

1 January (Thursday): Electronic salary transfer via the Musaned platform becomes mandatory for all domestic workers in the Kingdom.

10-18 January (Saturday-Sunday): Public school mid-year break.

13-15 January (Tuesday-Thursday): Future Minerals Forum, King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center, Riyadh.

15 January (Thursday): Title deed registration deadline for 31.7k properties in 14 neighborhoods in the Eastern Province.

15 January (Thursday): Title deed registration deadline for about 157.3k properties in 78 neighborhoods across the Eastern Province.

15 January (Thursday): Title deed registration deadline for about 41.7k properties across 115 neighborhoods in Riyadh, Qassim, and the Eastern Province.

18-21 January (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Hospital Design and Build Expo, Riyadh.

26-27 January (Monday-Tuesday): SuperReturn Saudi Arabia, Hotel Fairmont, Riyadh.

26-27 (Monday-Tuesday): GPRC Summit, Riyadh.

26-28 (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi Franchise Expo (SFE), Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre, Riyadh.

26-28 (Monday-Wednesday): Real Estate Future Forum, Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh.

26-28 (Monday-Wednesday): IFAT Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center, Riyadh,

27-28 (Tuesday-Wednesday): SkyMove Air Cargo MENA, Riyadh.

28 (Wednesday): Data Center Nation Riyadh, Riyadh.

28-30 (Wednesday-Friday): Jeddah International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (JTTX), Jeddah.

FEBRUARY

2-4 (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi Media Forum, Riyadh.

2-4 (Monday-Wednesday): Women Leaders Summit and Awards KSA, Riyadh.

2-13 (Monday-Friday): 2026 Asian Road Cycling Championship and Paralympic Cycling, Qassim.

3-4 (Tuesday-Wednesday): RLC Global Forum Annual Meeting, Riyadh.

4 (Wednesday): Michelin Guide’s Restaurant Celebration, Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh.

5-7 February (Thursday-Saturday): LIV Golf 2026 season opener, Riyadh Golf Club, Riyadh.

8-12 February (Sunday-Thursday): World Defense Show, Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, Riyadh.

9-10 February (Monday-Tuesday): Global Games Show Riyadh 2026, Malf Hall, Riyadh.

9-14 February (Monday-Saturday): Asian Racing Conference, Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel & Convention Centre, Riyadh.

11 (Wednesday) Digital Transformation Summit Saudi Arabia (DTS), Riyadh.

11-14 (Wednesday-Saturday): JeddaDerm, Jeddah.

13-14 February (Friday-Saturday): Jeddah E-Prix 2026, Jeddah.

15-17 February (Sunday-Tuesday): The World Advanced Manufacturing & Logistics Saudi Expo, Riyadh Front & Exhibition Center.

16 February (Monday) King Salman Stadium design-and-build contract prequalification submission deadline.

22 February (Sunday): Founding Day.

26 February (Thursday): Title deed registration deadline for 142.8k properties across 104 neighborhoods in Hail.

MARCH

12 March (Thursday): Deadline for real estate registration for 253.2k properties in 499 neighborhoods across Riyadh, Qassim, Makkah, and Hail.

17-23 March (Tuesday-Monday): Eid Al-Fitr holiday.

21 March (Saturday): Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.

31 March (Tuesday): Zatca’s 23rd E-invoicing integration wave deadline.

APRIL

6 April (Monday): Procurement and Supply Chain Futures Forum, Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

6-7 April (Monday-Tuesday): Real Estate Supply Chain Forum, Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Print & Pack, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Riyadh International Industry Week, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Plastics & Petrochem, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Smart Logistics, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

13-16 April (Monday-Thursday): Leap Tech Conference, Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Center – Malham.

20-22 April (Monday-Wednesday): The Future Hospitality Summit, Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

20-22 April (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi Paper and Packaging Expo, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

21 April (Tuesday): GC Summit Saudi Arabia 2026, Saudi Arabia.

27-29 April (Monday-Wednesday): Aluminum Arabia, The Arena, Riyadh.

MAY

3-5 May (Sunday-Tuesday): Sports Investment Forum (SIF), Riyadh.

3-9 May (Sunday-Sunday): The Global Sustainability Expo, The Arena Riyadh Venue.

24-28 (Sunday-Thursday): Eid al-Adha holiday.

JUNE

21-24 June (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Food Exhibition and Conference, Riyadh Front Expo.

SEPTEMBER

15-17 September (Tuesday-Thursday) The Global AI Summit, King Abdulaziz International Convention Center, Riyadh.

23 September (Wednesday): Saudi National Day.

OCTOBER

26-29 October (Monday-Thursday): World Energy Congress, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2026:

2H: Sabic’s USD 6.4 bn Fujian project in China to start production in 2026.
November: UN Trade and Development Global Supply Chain Forum to take place in Saudi Arabia.
November: The Esports Nations Cup, Riyadh.
The Intervision international music competition will take place in Saudi Arabia.
6 July-23 August (Monday-Sunday): Esports World Cup, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2027:

The World Water Forum takes place in Riyadh.
The Ocean Race finishes in Amaala on the Red Sea.
Riyadh-Kudmi transmission line to be completed.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2Q 2027:

The Hail Region Water Networks Project is expected to be completed.

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