Eric Trump says Saudi Arabia’s stock market reforms will attract billions of dollars

Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization. AN
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Updated 12 January 2026
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Eric Trump says Saudi Arabia’s stock market reforms will attract billions of dollars

RIYADH: Eric Trump has praised Saudi Arabia’s decision to open up its stock market to foreign investors, stating that billions of additional dollars are set to flow into the Kingdom. 

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the businessman, who is the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, also lauded the recent development projects taking shape in Riyadh, especially in Diriyah. 

The Kingdom has announced its financial markets will be open to all foreign investors from Feb. 1, with the removal of restrictions such as the Qualified Foreign Investor framework, which required a minimum of $500 million in assets under management, and the abolition of swap agreements. 

Reflecting on the decision, Trump said: “Some of the new legislation allowing foreign inward investment in Saudi Arabia, I think that’s going to open up possibilities for billions of dollars to flow into the market. 

“Obviously opening up the actual stock markets themselves to new foreign investment, I think that’s going to lead to more billions of dollars coming into the market. I think this is going to help with trade and tourism and so many other things.” 

According to Trump, the investment environment in Saudi Arabia is getting better as time progresses, with big brands from across the world entering the Kingdom’s market to tap its potential. 

Under the Vision 2030 economic diversification program, Saudi Arabia aims to attract $100 billion annually in foreign direct investments. 

“Every day, the investment environment gets better and better. You’ve got the biggest brands in the world that are coming in. All of those brands are making a tremendous amount of noise,” added Trump. 

A report released by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics in December revealed that foreign direct investment net inflows reached SR24.9 billion ($6.64 billion) in the third quarter of 2025, representing a 34.5 percent increase compared to the same period a year earlier. 

Trump made the comments as it was announced Saudi real estate developer Dar Global will launch two Trump-branded luxury projects in Riyadh and Jeddah with a combined value of $10 billion.

The projects include the Trump National Golf Course and Trump International Hotel in Riyadh’s Diriyah.

Commenting on the appeal of Saudi Arabia, Trump said: “The vision of the city, the vision of what’s happening in Riyadh, especially Diriyah, it’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” 

He later added: “The vision of what the new Riyadh is going to be, and the vision for all of Saudi Arabia as it continues to open up — you see all these great financial reforms, which should make more inward investment in Saudi Arabia inevitable. It’s incredibly exciting.” 

Trump went on to say that “the best days for Saudi Arabia are ahead,” adding: “Even in the six or seven years that I’ve been coming to the country, it’s amazing what’s been built, what’s been done. And I think the country should be incredibly proud of itself.”


Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

Updated 26 January 2026
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Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.

With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.

The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion

With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market. 

Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.

Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.

Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.

On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.

He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.

Speaking to Arab News,  Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”

Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.

 “Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said. 

Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.

He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”