Majid Al-Futtaim to invest SR14 billion building 2 malls in Riyadh

RIYADH: Majid Al-Futtaim will invest SR14 billion ($3.7 billion) building two malls in Saudi Arabiaís capital Riyadh, the Dubai-based company said.
The 300,000-square meter Mall of Saudi, which privately-held Majid Al-Futtaim said would be the Kingdom’s largest, will include shops, restaurants, entertainment, offices, hotels and residential units, plus Saudi Arabia’s first indoor ski slope.
The plans mark a major retail expansion into Saudi Arabia, despite reduced expectations for economic growth in the world’s top oil exporter due to a prolonged oil price slump.
“I see opportunities in challenges,” CEO Alain Bejjani said on the sidelines of the launch event, pointing to the projects’ long gestation and the Saudi government’s program of economic reforms.
Work on the larger Mall of Saudi will start in mid-2017, with the first phase of the mall to be completed by 2022, the company said in Riyadh.
Bejjani said he expected women would be allowed at the indoor snow park, but would defer to local regulations.
The second mall — the 100,000-square meter City Center Ishbiliyah in the eastern part of the capital — will include 250 shops when it opens in 2018.
Majid Al-Futtaim has acquired the building permit and plans to begin construction this year.
The company has already set aside funding for the projects as part of a five-year plan and does not intend to issue any debt for their construction, said Bejjani.
The company last week reported an 8 percent rise in annual revenue.
It did not disclose net profit.