Trump Firm Sharpens Saudi Property Focus As Prince Opens Market

The Trump Organization and luxury developer Dar Global Plc are kicking off sales at real estate projects in Saudi Arabia valued at $10 billion, seeking to capitalize on new rules that will soon make it easier for foreigners to invest.

The firms have agreed to develop Trump International Golf Club Wadi Safar in Riyadh, a gated-community to feature assets that will include a Trump-branded hotel, golf course and premium residences, according to a statement on Sunday.

The projects are among several that US President Donald Trump’s business empire is pursuing, efforts which have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. At the start of each of his terms in the White House, Trump has placed his business operations in a trust, through not a blind one, managed by his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.  

Sales at Wadi Safar project, and at the $1 billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah, will be launched this week, Dar Global’s Chief Executive Officer Ziad El Chaar said in an interview. That’s designed to coincide with looser laws around foreign property ownership expected to take effect this month, he said. 

“We expect a lot of demand locally, but we also have expectations of major interest from international investors because they see this market is just opening up,” El Chaar said. “People want to join from the beginning.”

Saudi Arabia plans to allow non-Saudis to buy a wider range of real estate assets, including in the holy cities of Mecca and Madinah, as it looks to lure more foreign capital for development. Regulators are also opening the Saudi stock market to all investors, and have further eased rules around alcohol consumption, in part to make Riyadh more attractive to foreigners.

The changes come as Saudi Arabia strives to make foreign investors a bigger contributor to the economy and source of funding for projects that back Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 diversification agenda.

Both the Trump Organization and Dar Global, the London-listed unit of Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan, said the reforms are a critical reason they’re accelerating their partnership.

The firms plan a second development in Riyadh and are also developing a Trump Tower in Jeddah. Neither ruled out the potential for investments in Saudi Arabia’s holy cities under the new property laws.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Dar Global and the Trump Organization are developing assets together in countries including Oman and Qatar. 

In the United Arab Emirates, they’re working on the Trump International Hotel & Tower, a property that’s set to feature the world’s highest swimming pool, in Dubai. They’ll probably be in Abu Dhabi soon too, said Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization.

“I’d say there is no area on Earth that has a stronger real estate environment right now than the Gulf,” Trump added.