The Emirati group, Majid Al Futtaim Holding, has started construction work in the Mall of Saudi Arabia, with investments of 16 billion riyals.
The largest in the Middle East
The CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding Group, Alain Bejjani, said that the company will start construction work in the Mall of Saudi Arabia, which is the largest in the Middle East, with an investment of 16 billion riyals.
Bejjani added in televised statements, on the sidelines of the Investment Initiative Forum in the Saudi capital, Riyadh: “We are on the verge of a new investment, which is (Mall of Saudi Arabia) with an investment value of 16 billion riyals to be implemented over the next 4 years.”
He continued: It is one of the largest private sector investments inside Saudi Arabia, in this field (malls and major shopping centers).
Global brands demand
He explained that the mall will be opened by the end of 2025, and the number of workers during the construction will reach 100,000 people, and it will provide 24,000 jobs after its opening.
He pointed out that his company has started leasing spaces in the new mall, saying: “We notice a great demand and desire by international and regional brands to come to the Kingdom.”
He pointed out that the Mall of Saudi Arabia will be a great addition to the retail sector, not only in Saudi Arabia, but in the world as a whole, explaining that it is one of the few malls in the world, which is considered a leap in the retail industry.
4.6 billion riyals Al-Futtaim investments
According to the group’s CEO, Majid Al Futtaim UAE has been working in Saudi Arabia for 20 years, with investments in the Kingdom of 4.6 billion riyals, and 3,400 employees, and it is looking forward to increasing the number of Carrefour stores to 100 branches in the Kingdom.
And Bejjani continued: “Majid Al Futtaim is investing in delivery centers that work with robotic technology, and we finished our first center in Jeddah in May 2021, and we have other centers that we will establish throughout Saudi Arabia.”
Saudi Arabia is the first market
The CEO of Majid Al Futtaim stressed that Saudi Arabia is the number one market in the region, even during the recovery period.
He added, “We are persistent in our investments in the Kingdom.”
He pointed out that “the first period after the opening of the economy, there was a recovery in consumption relatively fast, and this is normal because the markets are returning from very low levels, and last summer witnessed a great demand for re-consumption.”
Dubai’s retail sector surpassed 2019
Bejjani revealed that the retail sector in Dubai during the third quarter of this year exceeded the levels of 2019, stressing that the recovery in the retail sector is faster than the general recovery in other sectors.
He stated that the pace of Saudi recovery is witnessing a sustainable improvement, and the same improvement in some other markets such as Egypt, noting that the Egyptian market was the best economically performing at the level of the retail sector during 2020.
E-Commerce
Bejani explained that Majid Al Futtaim owns the largest share of the retail market in Egypt, and the group intends to carry out further expansions in the real estate sector, whether at the level of shopping malls, or the residential real estate development that we will enter for the first time in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
He praised the significant growth in digital commerce at the Majid Al Futtaim group, especially in the hypermarket and Carrefour, which is the retail door for its food commodities, as digital commerce reached 10% of total sales in Saudi Arabia, and to 7% in the UAE.
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