Photo: Madinah seen from the International Space Station / NASA via Wikimedia Commons
The law allowing foreigners to buy Saudi property is starting to show up in a Madinah developer's results.
Knowledge Economic City's third-quarter profit rose to 99.7 million Riyal ($26.6 million), from 28.2 million Riyal a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Revenue nearly doubled to 245.1 million Riyal.
The company credited stronger sales at its residential projects after the Non-Saudi Property Ownership Law took effect.
Where the money came from
It also recognized about 170 million Riyal in revenue from a land plot sold in July, and its newly opened hotel added to sales.
Gross profit more than tripled to nearly 182 million Riyal.
The year so far
Knowledge Economic City swung to a nine-month profit of 71.3 million Riyal, from a loss of 26.7 million Riyal a year earlier.
More deals in the pipeline
In July, the company agreed to sell three plots for nearly 399 million Riyal, and signed a letter of intent to set up a 7.5 billion Riyal real estate fund for its Knowledge Gardens project.
Why it matters
The ownership law, in force since January, has its own rules for Madinah and Makkah. Knowledge Economic City's numbers suggest foreign demand in Madinah is turning into sales, not just inquiries.
