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Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), a unit of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), is acquiring a mortgage portfolio worth SAR 1 billion ($266.7 million) from Bidaya Finance to inject liquidity into the local housing market.
SRC and Bidaya have signed the acquisition deal, the largest of its kind, which is in line with a strategy to provide more refinancing options in the kingdom and increase home ownership rates among Saudi citizens.
“This agreement… represents a strategic milestone in strengthening our role in providing innovative financing solutions that contribute to the development of the securities market through mortgage portfolios,” said Mahmoud Dahdouli, CEO of Bidaya Finance.
Established in 2017, SRC seeks to support Saudi Vision 2030’s goal to enable more Saudis to acquire homes through increased liquidity and more affordable finance options.
As of the second quarter of the year, banks in Saudi Arabia financed SAR 18.3 billion in new residential mortgages for individuals, up by roughly 8% from a year earlier, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Bindu Rai)
