IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Arabia's central bank has granted a license to its national home finance company, Bidaya and it will launch with 900 million riyals ($239.94 million) in capital. The decision by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) joins efforts to boost home ownership in the kingdom, where a shortage of affordable housing has become an economic and social issue. In development since 2010, Bidaya is a venture between the finance ministry's Public Investment Fund and the Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). The company aims to make financing more readily available in a kingdom where home ownership levels lag behind the global average of 70 percent.

Saudi Arabia's national home finance company, Bidaya, may open its doors by the end of this year. In development since 2010, the company is a venture between the finance ministry's Public Investment Fund and the Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). Bidaya is in its last phase of development prior to launch and will submit an application for a licence as soon as regulations under the kingdom's mortgage laws are finalised. The "target size" of its paid-up capital will reportedly be 900 million riyals ($240 million). Bidaya will increase access to finance for middle-income home buyers across the Kingdom and thus, raise low levels of home ownership in the country.