< PreviousCOVER STORY |arabianbusiness.com 21 | ABBAS SAJWANI arabianbusiness.com 21 Rampaging startup, high-class luxury, and one of the biggest developers in Dubai: Welcome to the world of Abbas Sajwani and AHS Properties COVER STORY BY MATTHEW AMLÔT22 Vol. 24/01, January 2023 COVER STORY | Few names are as intrinsi- cally connected to the UAE business world as that of Sajwani. The family behind the legendary DAMAC Properties, the Sajwani clan have a storied history tied to that of the UAE’s own meteoric global rise. The company was founded by visionary Emirati entrepreneur Hussain Sajwani, but now the next generation have begun to take their place as heirs to the empire. In this, Abbas Sajwani strikes a slightly di erent note. Simultane- ously humble in the roots that moulded his impressive real estate acumen, while ambitious, with plans on conquering the market in ways unlike his own family. “From a very young age, it was always DAMAC at lunch and dinner at home,” Sajwani explains. Having real estate for lunch and dinner likely helped prepare Sajwani for his latest venture – launching luxury property rm AHS Properties. “I think that really helped me understand the real estate market, understand the whole business model, it’s really helped dealing with authorities and really helped moti- vate me to start AHS Properties. It’s been a natural progression,” Sajwani explains. AHS Properties is an o shoot of AHS Group, a rm founded in 2017 by Sajwani when he was just 18 years old focused on ventures, investments and properties. Over the span of five years, Sajwani has taken this fresh- man to the business world and trans- formed it, with the rm now employ- ing more than 2,000 employees with an asset value of $800m. P e r haps A HS Pr operties represents the Group’s turn as a sophomore, with ultra-luxury properties placed firmly under the spotlight. “We launched it in 2021. Our focus was just pure luxury, ultra-luxury properties. We’ve learned a lot about the market, what the clients like, what they don’t like, where the market $800M The asset value of AHS Group set up by Abbas Sajwani in 2017 rey building in the highly desirable downtown area built around the concept of bringing villa living to the sky. Designed by Shaun Killa from Killa Design, the designer of Dubai’s Museum of the Future, and located at Dubai Canal, Sajwani’s favourite location in the city, the building o ers a luxury product in a market that has struggled to cope with an overwhelming increase in demand over the past year. “When I saw that location, I fell in love with it. I thought it’s the ultimate address… I think that whole area is going to be the Mayfair of Dubai,” Sajwani says. stands today in luxury,” Sajwani explains on the company’s launch. Dubai, AHS Properties’ home, already features a staggering array of breath-taking real estate projects, with Sajwani’s latest projects adding to the market’s vibrant mix. Take AHS One Canal, a nine-sto- The market is good, but I don’t think it’s a bubble, Dubai is still undervalued. When you compare to London, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris, even other cities in the Middle East, Dubai is not very expensive Exclusive The project from AHS Properties will comprise of 25 penthouses and sky villasarabianbusiness.com 23 | ABBAS SAJWANI “I think prices will keep growing because demand is going to keep becoming stronger. And supply for ultra-luxury products is limited. You don’t have another Palm Jumeirah,” Sajwani says. Sajwani’s bullishness extends further, to the emirate’s authorities, noting that Dubai is home to a “very, very, very good [real estate] system. I think one of the best in the world.” On the spectre of the 2009 nan- cial crash, Sajwani dismisses the notion, “I don’t think there’s a bubble in the market.” Nor does he see the prices falling, instead he believes they will continue to go up. In this, Sajwani has put his own capital on the line, revealing that he purchased two plots of land on Jumeirah Bay Island to build his house. “It’s already up over 80 percent. I’m getting o ers from people who are all end users and I’m not selling.” On his journey so far, Sajwani attributes his success to the lessons learned from his father, property mogul Hussain Sajwani: “I think I’ve learned a lot from my dad, everything I’ve learned is from him.” In particular, Sajwani vaunts his father’s detail-orientated approach to getting business done, along with his “very hands on leadership style.” “I think my management style and everything I’ve learned in busi- ness is from him.” As the interview comes to a close, it becomes clear that Sajwani’s obsession with producing the next generation of Dubai’s futuristic real estate developments is rooted in his own personal relationship with the property market. “It’s all I’ve heard about for the last 20 years, it’s all I’ve dreamed about. It’s always been real estate, real estate, real estate. I think that’s what really helped me found AHS Properties.” Sajwani has no plans to slow down as he continues to develop AHS Properties, while supplying and creating Dubai’s future luxury real estate. Watch this space. In addition to AHS One Canal, the company launched property at another highly exclusive Dubai address – the Palm Jumeirah. Prices for property on the Palm have skyrocketed this year, jumping well over 100 percent as overseas inves- tors ock to the UAE’s shores. For Sajwani, it all has to do with beach living, “Beachfront property is very scarce, and there’s not much beachfront property in Dubai overall.” The fundamental scarcity of beachfront property has helped drive prices in the ultra to high-end luxury real estate market, although for Sajwani “it’s still not expensive.” “The market is good, but I don’t think it’s a bubble, Dubai is still undervalued. When you compare to London, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris, even other cities in the Middle East, Dubai is not very expen- sive,” Sajwani says. Indeed, the ongoing price in a- tion in the market has come as a result of Dubai real estate being “undervalued.” “I think the prices will keep going up, as the buyers who bought from us are all end users, they’re not specu- lators, that means they’re buying for themselves.” As Sajwani explains this, it becomes obvious as to the gap he has sought to service with AHS Properties – the fundamentally supply constrained high-end luxury market. So, with constrained supply representing one side of the equation that has driven prices sky-high, what’s the other side of the coin? Well for Sajwani, he believes that the long- hand of Covid-19 continues to play a role – in particular, the UAE’s remarkable ability to handle the pandemic. “Dubai offers many things that many cities in the world don’t, and people didn’t realise that. During Covid they moved here because it was open during Covid, and spent three or four months here with their family and got used to it. They can’t go back now as they have realised what Dubai has to o er and that’s why they all want to stay.” In its short span of time in the market, AHS Properties has already seen some success, with three mansions in Palm Jumeirah sold, and two more under development and heading to market soon. Can the growth ever end? Not if Sajwani has anything to do with it, for him there’s room for price growth “in a big way.” Investment Real estate remains a trustworthy alternative asset class, according to Sajwani Connection Abbas Sajwani with former US President Donald TrumpIND USTRY | 24 Vol. 24/01, January 2023 Key sectors to watch as Saudi Arabia races to achieve Vision 2030 The kingdom’s ambitious plan for economic reform is set to take centre stage in Transformation Vision 2030 has led to signi cant project announcements across various corporate sectors, including energy, transport, tourism, healthcare and digital infrastructure The Saudi Arabian government is focused on economic reform and its Vision strategic framework has set out various paths to achieve it; mainly by aiming to diversify the country away from hydrocarbons. A catalyst for the country’s economic transformation is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has $6 bn of assets under its management. To ful l Vision , the PIF and its portfolio companies aim to help grow Saudi Arabia’s annual non-oil GDP by about 7 percent. Vision has led to signi cant project announcements across vari- ous corporate sectors, including energy, transport, tourism, health- care and digital infrastructure. We anticipate Vision will drive the scal outlook for Saudi Arabia, with BY SAPNA JAGTIANI , DIRECTOR – S&P GLOBAL RATINGSarabianbusiness.com 25 $1 trillion Saudi Arabia’s investments in real estate and infrastructure projects as part of Vision 2030 For the economy to achieve a successful digital transformation, advanced infrastructure and digital skills are required natural resources, to boost Saudi employment and growth. The Shareek programme has identified national players such as Saudi Aramco and SABIC, which could see an uptick in investments in the sector. Despite the softer macroeconomic outlook, feedstock availability and a ordability should help Saudi chem- ical producers mitigate some of the challenges of the inflationary and volatile operating environment. Investment in the domestic petro- chemical sector is expected to ramp up. As a result, our base case is for higher capex in the medium term for SABIC (A-/Positive/A-2), which in turn, translate into overall higher funding requirements to meet these investment needs. Real estate We foresee sustained property market growth in Saudi Arabia, fuelled by Vision 2030 and the Iskan programme, with $1 trillion slated for real estate and infrastructure projects. At least eight new cities are planned, predom- inantly along the coast of the Red Sea, with more than 1.3 million new homes by end-2030. Numerous projects are also planned for existing main cities. The o ce real estate market has been boosted by the Regional Headquarters (RHQ) programme, supported by business growth initiatives related to Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia’s retail property market has a lot of long-term growth potential. About SAR13bn -SAR 16bn is set to be invested in retail property in 2022-2023. This is backed by relatively low retail penetration, the large and young population, increasing urbanisa- tion, expanding tourism, and expected signi cant growth in the entertainment industry. The latter will be driven by the $1.1bn Ignite programme, set to position Saudi Arabia as the region’s leading digital entertainment and media production hub. Tourism The sector has already received a substantial boost via aviation devel- opments as well as projects intended PIF and other government agencies setting the pace for investment, followed by private local companies. Investment will likely remain fairly high as a percentage of GDP. While e orts to drive non-oil growth via foreign direct investment (FDI) and mega projects should also support GDP growth. In 2022, high oil prices helped Saudi Arabia’s strong recovery, but that growth will slow in 2023 because of supply cuts agreed under OPEC+. Aside from high oil prices, increased oil production and robust non-oil momentum also helped grow the economy this year. GDP increased for the sixth consecutive quarter, growing 8.6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, according to the ash estimates published by the General Authority for Statistics. As a result, Saudi Arabia is set to become one of the world’s fastest-growing large economies in 2022. Looking ahead, we evaluate some of the key sectors which will see signi cant spending growth over the medium and long term. Oil and gas The energy sector is a substantial contributor to the government’s reve- nues and its credit quality is currently benefiting from higher oil and gas prices. This windfall will help fund the government’s share of investments despite its heavy capital expenditure (capex) burden. Brent crude oil prices are currently hovering just below $90/ bbl, after temporarily hitting $127/bbl in March 2022, and we have seen the region’s oil and gas companies reap the benefits of commodity price increases in the year to date. Saudi Aramco is reportedly focus- ing on upstream and downstream investments including expanding its crude oil production capacity to 13 million barrels per day (mmbpd) by 2027 and boosting gas production by more than 50 percent by 2030, in addi- tion to the long-term goal of up to 4 mmbpd liquids-to-chemicals, all of which requires continuous capex. Promising sector Saudi Arabia’s retail property market has a lot of long-term growth potential, Jagtiani believes Furthermore, increased invest- ments should provide some cash- ow visibility for the Saudi oil eld services (OFS) sector. To boost the kingdom’s production capacity Saudi Aramco publicly announced plans to double its o shore eet to 90 by 2024. Chemicals The petrochemical industry will also be key to delivering Vision 2030. The regu- latory environment in Saudi Arabia is generally supportive of the sector (through feedstock subsidies for exam- ple) and for investing in the country’s 26 Vol. 24/01, January 2023 IND USTRY | to help attract million visitors per year by . The aim is for tourism to contribute percent of GDP and create jobs for young Saudis. The country’s modernization e orts and investments in mega projects for tourism and entertainment - Neom, Red Sea Project, Qiddiya -should attract more international visitors. Hosting major events such as the Asian Winter Games in 9 in Neom should also boost numbers. The devel- opment of utilities, transportation, and social infrastructure in cities will, in aggregate, require investments in excess of $5 bn. We believe that these projects - alongside measures that free up competition, foreign ownership, and long-term residency - will attract people to Saudi Arabia and ultimately bene t the country via higher foreign direct investment. Telcos For the economy to achieve a successful digital transformation, advanced infrastructure and digital skills are required. Digital infra- The Ministry of Health will soon assume a regulatory role, with the private sector expected to play a more important part in developing healthcare. The government is aiming to increase the sector’s contribution to 5 percent by from percent currently. Utilities The government has laid out clear plans to reduce the country’s depen- dency on fossil fuels for power gener- ation. We expect more public-private partnerships and signi cant invest- ments in the country’s grids. Overall, Saudi Arabia’s investment needs are signi cant given the many government schemes, investment commitments, and private sector spending plans it has up until . As a result, it is unlikely the government’s PIF, and the banking sector alone will be able to fund these investments. Instead, it is likely to fall to the debt-capital markets to support a large portion of these new opportu- nities in order to keep up with the government’s economic goals. 100 million Saudi Arabia’s target number of visitors per year by 2030 Energy intensive Utilities face the mammoth task of meeting 70 percent of energy needs from renewables by 2030 structure developed by telcos will be at the heart of investments, in our view, including high speed broad- band, 5G, and a strategic digital hub (the MENA Hub). Healthcare Under Vision , the government plans to invest over $ 5bn to develop healthcare infrastructure, committing to 88 percent of the population being covered by inclusive health services by 5. arabianbusiness.com 27 His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti said: “Creating safe and strong cyber infrastructure in the UAE has proven instrumental to the progress of ambitious economic and social initiatives across the nation. Mobilizing the entire UAE cybersecu- rity ecosystem to jointly confront threats in cyberspace will enable all individuals and businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital world.” He stressed that the Cyber Security Council is building a safe and resilient infrastructure for cyber security in the UAE, and has made this vital aspect an integral part of the culture of institu- tions and individuals. The Cyber Pulse initiative launched by the Council aims to ensure safe digital transformation, he explained. Khaled Al Melhi noted: “We are delighted to be part of this pivotal nation-wide strategic journey and to play an essential role in meeting the vision of the UAE. We are pleased to have the trust of the Council and look forward to supporting UAE organiza- tions to mitigate the security risks of tomorrow. Our ambition at CPX is to build a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem for everyone in a digital- rst world.” The Council’s latest agreement with CPX follows a memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties earlier this year. CPX has since worked with various stakeholders in cyberspace to broaden its cybersecu- rity know-how and collaborate to ensure end-to-end cybersecurity across all industries to be well prepared to thrive in a fast-changing world. UAE Cyber Security Council partners with CPX Holding to deliver world- class solutions for threat assessment and response CYBER SECURITY | The UAE government’s Cyber Security Council has signed a strategic partnership with CPX Holding, a leading provider of digital- rst cybersecurity solutions and services, to facilitate swift and coordinated responses to future cyber incidents in the UAE. In an era of advanced threats and highly sophisti- cated threat actors, leveraging enhanced and advanced cybersecurity capabilities and experience can make the di erence between success and failure for organizations. The agreement was signed during GITEX Global between His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, and Khaled Al Melhi, CEO of CPX. The two parties will engage in a multi-year program to standardize the UAE’s national cybersecurity opera- tions and elevate the cybersecurity resilience of the country by building world-class capabilities to respond to all types of incidents and threat actors. Mobilizing the entire UAE cybersecurity ecosystem to jointly confront threats in cyberspace will enable all individuals and businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital world. CPX offers a wide variety of assess- ment, protection, and operational services. These include threat intelli- gence and deep dive assessments, designing incident response protocols and security operations centers (SOCs), and cybersecurity training and aware- ness campaigns designed to support the UAE Government and organiza- tions with developing nationwide cyber skills. The cooperation aligns with the wider objective of the Council to prioritize, develop, and implement nationwide defense capabilities in collaboration with national entities and international allies. 28 Vol. 24/01, January 2023 Into the kingdom Saudi Arabia will see a surge in tourism for Growing industry More than 18 million tourists visited Saudi Arabia between January and October 2022 Following the challenges of the pandemic years, was a turning point for the travel and tourism industry. It was the year when the majority of pandemic restrictions were lifted across the world, when the years of pent-up demand for travel was unleashed, and when people finally embarked on that long-awaited trip for adventure, for business or for reunions with loved ones. is the year travel came back stronger than ever. BY MAJED ALNEFAIE, CEO, SEERA GROUP FUTURE OF BIM & DIGITAL TWINS STARTS HERE! Event theme is Enabling Digital Transformation and includes a 2-day conference plus workshop on latest developments for BIM, Digital Twins, GIS, and related technology. Presentations focus on the role of digital construction from project concept and design, project management, to full lifecycle asset management. This is the Kingdom’s leading event for BIM & Digital Twins! Presentations are by government and private sector organizations at the forefront of the Kingdom’s construction industry, and mega projects. Plus, international organizations that are leaders in smart sustainable construction and built asset management. Event website with further details is: www.bimdtksa.com NETWORK, MEET YOUR TARGET MARKET, AND DO BUSINESS! Adjacent to the strategic level conference is the expo area where event sponsors and exhibitors showcase the latest digital construction and asset management technology and services to delegates during the conference breaks. If this is your target market, then book now as the 2022 event booked out. For further details including event sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities call: Anthony Sprange Director of Conferences at ITP Media Group +971 (0)58 598 9062 or email: anthony.sprange@itp.com 14 & 15 FEBRUARY 2023, RIYADH ASSOCIATE SPONSORLUNCH SPONSORPOWERED BYMEDIA PARTNER BIM & DIGITAL TWINS SAUDI ARABIA 2023 CONFERENCE & EXPO OPEN BIM & DIGITAL TWINS: THE KEY TO INDUSTRY 4.0 EVENT PARTNER: STR ATEGIC PARTNER: Scan the QR code to learn more about the event and register KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS INCLUDE: CASEY RUTLAND Vice Chair, UK BIM Alliance & Chair, buildingSMART UK & Ireland DAVID GLENNON Senior Digital Delivery Director, The Red Sea Development Company DR. ABDULLAH AL-HALAFI Digital Twin Consultant & VP, International Society of Automation WASSIM GHADBAN Vice President, Global Innovation & Digital Engineering, Kent MOSTAFA ELASHMAWY Senior BIM & GIS Manager Middle East, WSP BADR BURSHAID President, Project Management Institute KSA Chapter DR SALAH OMRAN Senior Projects BIM Manager, Turner International ABDELRAHMAN ABOUHADID BIM Manager, MaceNext >