Saudi banks and finance companies grant fewer housing loans in April

Houses make up the biggest portion of residential new mortgages with 64 percent or SR5.9 billion (Shutterstock)
Short Url
Updated 09 June 2022
Follow

Saudi banks and finance companies grant fewer housing loans in April

Residential real estate finance provided by banks to individuals was down 41 percent year-on-year in April, according to data released by Saudi Central Bank.

New residential loans decreased to SR9.2 billion ($2.45 billion) in April from SR15.6 billion last year.

Houses make up the biggest portion of residential new mortgages with 64 percent or SR5.9 billion. Apartments and land follow with SR1.7 billion and SR1.6 billion respectively.

The highest decrease was reported in new land mortgages, which decreased by 60 percent in April, compared to the same period last year.

After witnessing around 74 percent monthly increase in March, new housing loans by Saudi banks saw a decline by around 40 percent in April, with land financing recording the highest drop.

The number of new mortgage contracts in April declined to 11,255 from 19,000 in March, and by 43 percent compared to the same period last year.

New residential loans granted by finance companies constitute only 2.3 percent of similar loans provided by Saudi banks and amounted to SR211 million in April this year.

These loans have also witnessed a year-on-year decline of 39 percent from SR343 million last year.

Houses, which constitute more than 50 percent of new retail housing loans by finance companies, had a yearly decline of 55 percent in April.

 


PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

Updated 18 February 2026
Follow

PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.

As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.

The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.

Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.

The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.

CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.” 

The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.

In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”

He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”

He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.

Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.

The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.

Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.

The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.