Saudi Arabia will merge two government-owned developers working on its Red Sea tourism project into a single entity to cut costs and and boost synergies, as the kingdom accelerate the development of its nascent tourism industry.
The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) and Amaala, owned by the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, are developing adjacent mega projects on the country's west coast.
They will soon be unified under the "Red Sea Group" to increase efficiencies, John Pagano, who is chief executive of both companies, said in an interview on Tuesday.
"What it allows us to do is to leverage our synergies between the two projects," Mr Pagano said.
"It allows us to leverage the skill sets within both organisations for the betterment of both projects and we're in the final stages of that being formalised.
"We [TRSDC] are a good year or more ahead of where they [Amaala] are and so all the lessons we've learnt we apply them over there and vice versa."
The large-scale projects being developed by companies such as Amaala and TRSDC are part of the kingdom's efforts to diversify and cut its dependence on sale of hydrocarbons for revenue.
Development of non-oil sectors such as tourism are key planks of the kingdom's Vision 2030 economic transformation agenda.
Amaala, an ultra-luxury destination focused on wellness, plans to raise between five billion Saudi riyals ($1.3bn) and 10 billion riyals ($2.7bn) in 2022 to help fund the first phase of the project, Mr Pagano said.
"We will probably come to market next year with Amaala," he said.
"It will be conventional senior debt secured against the assets that we're building and the eventual income produced by those assets, which will then service the debt."
The first phase of the Amaala project will comprise nine hotels, delivering about 1,300 hotel rooms. It is on track for completion by mid-2024, he added.
TRSDC, which raised 14bn riyals in green financing earlier this year, will tap the debt market for financing of its subsequent phases but currently does not have capital requirement for the first phase.
"[For] subsequent phases, depending on the timing, [we] will come back to the market," Mr Pagano said. "It's a mix of equity and debt to get the right balance."
TRSDC awarded contracts worth 14.5bn riyals in 2020 as the company pushes ahead with the construction of the mega tourism project.
The company will award another 18bn riyals worth of contracts in the next 18 months as it begins construction of hotels and an airport, Mr Pagano said.
TRSDC is developing 16 hotels with 3,000 rooms across five islands and two inland sites as part of the first phase of the project on Saudi Arabia’s west coast.
The project is expected to welcome its first guests by the end of 2022, when the international airport and first hotels are due to open.
"We are signing today a number of hotel deals," Mr Pagano said at the sidelines of the Arabian and African Hospitality Investment Conference in Dubai.
The hotel brand deals will be announced during the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh in October.
To keep up with the increasing pace of work, the company will hire more than 700 employees in the next 12 months, Mr Pagano said.
TRSDC will have a total workforce of 1,000 people in the next few weeks and Amaala has a 500-strong workforce.
Going forward, the company is mulling a real estate investment trust (Reit) as a future financing option and it has not ruled out tapping capital markets through a public listing, Mr Pagano said.
A Reit "is another possible way to take the assets and put them into an investment vehicle that's open to a much broader universe of investors," he said. "So you can open it up to retail investors as well as institutional investors."
TRSDC, which says it abides by standards of regenerative tourism, will operate using the world's largest battery storage system, which will be built by Acwa Power.
Such renewable energy solutions cost more but are "no longer an optional extra" because consumers are demanding more sustainability measures from the hospitality industry, he said.
Saudi Arabia is "the most happening hospitality market in the world today, there's no other country in the world that is showing such growth in that industry," he said.
"The leisure piece of the hospitality space is happening in Saudi Arabia at a scale that's unprecedented."
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
War 2
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Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
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What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
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- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
