Foreigners Can Now Invest in Makkah and Medina Properties

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced on Monday that foreign investors will now be allowed to invest in listed companies owning real estate within Islam’s two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina.

This decision enables foreigners to invest in firms that generate revenue from Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, a major income source for the oil-rich nation. In 2019, Saudi Arabia earned $12 billion from these pilgrimages, with plans to welcome 30 million pilgrims annually by 2030.

The CMA stated that foreign investment will be limited to shares and convertible debt instruments, excluding “strategic foreign investors.” Non-Saudis cannot own more than 49% of shares in these companies. The announcement follows a 2021 decision allowing non-Saudis to invest in real estate funds within Mecca and Medina.

Saudi Arabia’s stock market, the largest in the Gulf with a market cap of 10.2 trillion riyals ($2.72 trillion), saw immediate gains. Shares of Jabal Omar Development and Makkah Construction, both owning real estate in Mecca, surged by 10%.

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