Saudi home finance company Bidaya has launched operations in the kingdom with a capital of SR900 million ($240 million) in bid to boost home ownership across the kingdom.

It is a joint venture between the finance ministry’s Public Investment Fund and Jeddah-based Islamic Corporate for the Development of the Private Sector, which is a unit of the Islamic Development Bank.

Licensed under the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama), Bidaya will be offering professional  Sharia-compliant financial solutions to both customers and partners in the kingdom.

The company had won the mortgage finance licence in December last year.

Announcing the launch, chairman Khaled bin Mohamed Al Aboodi said: "Bidaya was established with the primary purpose of enabling home ownership. Our role as a facilitator will aim to address the economic and social issue by increasing access to finance for middle-income home buyers, and thereby significantly contributing towards the sustainability of the housing sector in the kingdom."

The company is the first newly established real estate finance company to get such a licence, and the Sama approval entitles it to carry out its operations and receive customers wishing to obtain a real estate finance compliant with Sharia.

Al Aboodi said Bidaya's vision of enabling home ownership for all was demonstrated in its customer-centric approach and the wide range of home finance solutions offered.

Bidaya’s business model is based on forging strong alliances with real estate developers and professional service providers, while keeping in mind the aspirational needs of customers, he added.

CEO Mazin bin Ahmed Al Ghunaim said: "We at Bidaya are committed to playing our part by streamlining mortgage finance end-to-end processing, short turnaround times, using innovative mortgage technologies, and an engineered approach to evaluate customer creditworthiness which we truly believe lies at the core of further developing Saudi mortgage market."

According to him, the company’s short-term goal is to open service hubs in capital Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

"Bidaya is also set to launch its digital presence with an interactive website before the end of 2016," he noted.
 
"Our long-term strategy, in the changing landscape of Saudi Arabia, is to enable and empower aspiring home owners by simplifying the lengthy and tedious mortgage process to fulfil their dreams, he added.-TradeArabia News Service