Al Ibrahim Investment Group, a major developer in Saudi Arabia, is set to make its Cityscape Global debut with a SR5-billion ($1.3 billion) investment purse and the goal of developing long-term strategic partnerships to grow its real estate portfolio.

Owned by Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, the group already has a healthy portfolio of active regional real estate projects plus a substantial land bank that includes a prime site in Egypt.

The company's Cityscape debut comes ahead of its $480-million REIT (real estate investment trust) announcement as it looks to partner up on local and regional real estate portfolio development including substantial land bank opportunities.

Fahad bin Abdul Aziz Al Ibrahim, the vice chairman of Al Ibrahim Investment Group, said the company was looking at various asset classes opportunities from residential and commercial projects through to hotels and other specialist sectors.

"We already work with an astute group of international investors from across the kingdom as well as Egypt, Tunisia, France, Germany and the UK, and our future vision is to set up a series of investment funds encompassing both domestic and international projects, in alliance with equally visionary partners across a variety of industry sectors," stated Fahad.

The company’s real estate arm Al Inwa'a will be unveiling the details of its latest REIT at Cityscape Global in Dubai, UAE, which will be held from September 21 to 23.

With an established track record in the GCC real estate sector including the establishment of REITs, residential project development and tourism and trade-related endeavours, Al Ibrahim is also keen to ensure that its projects deliver in terms of adding value to the communities where they are located and the local economy, stated Fahad.

“If we use Saudi Arabia as an example where, as an investor, developer and landlord, we already own projects in strategic locations including Riyadh, Makkah and Jeddah province, it is a fundamental part of our mandate that we provide strong returns on investment for our partners as well as benefit the local community and economy,” he added.

The Al Ibrahim Investment Group umbrella also includes the Saudi Egyptian Company for Tourism Development, which owns some of Cairo’s most prominent hotels including the Grand Hyatt, plus an exclusive River Nile location (investment lands) and a number of plots in Cairo and at Hurghada on the Red Sea coast.

It also owns and operates two luxury hotels in the popular Tunisian resort of Sousse, through its Saudi Tunisian Investment and Development Company subsidiary, as well as ownership of a 100,000-sq-m plot of prime coastal land that is ready for development as a signature mixed-use residential-meets-tourism project.

Salman bin Abdullah bin Fadilah, the general manager at Al Inwa'a, said: "At the moment we are preparing for the imminent launch of a number of schemes focusing on quality and added-value services for our projects and existing developments in the Central Region of the kingdom, which will contribute to maintaining a balance between supply and demand, and meet the needs and desires of the market."

The company plans to launch a new investment project located on the King’s Road in Jeddah in addition to an integrated services residential scheme in the north of the province, he added.-TradeArabia News Service