Saudi Private Markets Strengthen as Non Oil Growth Accelerates

This week's developments underscore a Saudi economy refining its institutional plumbing on several fronts at once: tighter oversight of capital flowing into the real estate sector, deeper international engagement on sustainable development, resilient private-sector momentum, and mounting evidence that the Kingdom's venture capital ecosystem is reaching a new stage of maturity. The four stories below capture where policy and market activity are converging, and what it signals for investors and asset allocators in the weeks ahead.

SAMA Updates Bank Account Requirements for Non-Resident Real Estate Investors

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has updated its banking sector rules to introduce dedicated account-opening requirements for non-resident individuals covered by the Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis Law. In a circular to the banking sector, SAMA added a new category, non-Saudi, non-resident individuals covered by the law, under the existing rule governing non-resident account holders. Eligible customers must provide a digital identity credential issued for real estate transactions, a passport copy, proof of address and contact details in their home country, a Saudi mobile number linked to their digital identity, evidence of any agreement with a licensed broker or developer, and a certified bank statement from their home institution. Banks must verify customers through an independent, trusted source in the Kingdom, including biometric verification; restrict the account's purpose strictly to real estate transactions; prohibit joint holders or overseas-based authorised signatories; limit customers to a single remote account; withhold debit and credit cards; and route all property-related payments through approved platforms such as the real estate registry, the Ejar rental platform, SADAD, or a licensed broker. Banks are also required to continuously verify the validity of the customer's digital identity throughout the relationship. For asset managers and developers courting foreign buyers, the update signals a more codified, bank-level compliance layer behind the Kingdom's newly opened property market, with tighter controls that should, over time, lower onboarding friction by giving banks a clear rulebook to work from.

Saudi Arabia to Present Third Voluntary National Review at UN Sustainable Development Forum

The Kingdom is taking part in the United Nations' 2026 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, running from 7 to 15 July in New York, where member states review global progress against the 2030 Agenda. Saudi Arabia will present its 2026 Voluntary National Review, its third since 2018 and 2023, drawing on contributions from more than 140 government, private-sector, academic, civil-society and international partners, and reaffirming the alignment between Vision 2030 and the UN's global development framework. The delegation, led by Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim, includes representatives from 14 government and private entities spanning economic planning, foreign affairs, energy, education, environment, and housing, alongside organisations including the Madinah Development Authority, the General Authority for Awqaf, the Saudi Fund for Development and Expo 2030 Riyadh. This year's forum, themed around transformative and coordinated action on the 2030 Agenda, will review progress on five goals: clean water and sanitation, affordable clean energy, industry and infrastructure, sustainable cities, and partnerships. Saudi Arabia will also host side events showcasing national sustainability initiatives. For investors, the review is a useful, independently benchmarked signal of how sustainability commitments are being embedded across sectors that increasingly intersect with capital allocation: energy, water, housing and industrial infrastructure.

Non-Oil Private Sector Grows at Fastest Pace in Four Months

Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector expanded at its fastest pace in four months in June, with the Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers' Index rising to 53.3 from 52.8 in May — comfortably above the 50-point line separating growth from contraction and the strongest reading since the escalation of the Iran conflict earlier in the year. The improvement was driven by domestic demand, with new business growing at its strongest pace since February on the back of stronger investor confidence, resumed deferred sales, and new project approvals. Export demand, however, fell for a fourth consecutive month amid logistics challenges and external competition. Business confidence climbed to its highest level since January, supported by expectations of improved market conditions and easing supply-chain disruption, though employment growth remained muted as firms stayed cautious on costs. Riyad Bank economist Naif Al-Ghaith said the data reinforces expectations of sustained non-oil growth in the second half of the year. Cost pressures remain a watch item: input costs hit a 15-year high, prompting 22% of firms to raise selling prices, even as supply chains showed some improvement through greater reliance on local suppliers. For investors, the read is a private sector expanding on genuinely domestic strength, with margin pressure the main offsetting risk to monitor.

Saudi Arabia Cements Position as Region's Top Venture Capital Market

The Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) reports that foreign private investment flows into the Kingdom's private markets reached SAR 20 billion ($5.3 billion) in 2025, around 6% of total private investment in Saudi Arabia, with the number of international investors active in the market rising more than fivefold, from 28 in 2019 to 148 in 2025. Cumulative foreign private investment since 2019 has now surpassed SAR 40 billion ($11 billion), according to the company's report on foreign investment in Saudi private markets, which covers private equity, venture capital and private debt. The Kingdom has held its position as the largest venture capital market in the Middle East and North Africa for a third consecutive year, with roughly 150 international investment institutions from the US, Europe and Asia now active in the market. Fintech and e-commerce continue to draw the largest share of capital, though investor interest is broadening into healthcare, enterprise software, edtech, food and beverage, and logistics. SVC identified seven enablers behind the growth, including macroeconomic stability, regulatory modernisation, capital-market infrastructure, catalytic government-backed investment, and a growing local footprint of global investors. Separately, SVC data shows venture capital investment in the Kingdom has grown 27-fold since 2018, the year the company was established, with its own capital commitments catalysing roughly five times that amount in private-sector co-investment, including through its Fuel initiative, which has backed 18 companies via fund managers. For investors, the data points to a private markets ecosystem that has moved well past its early-stage phase and is now competing directly for global venture and growth capital allocations.

Taken together, this week's developments describe a market tightening its institutional foundations while extending its reach in two directions at once: outward, through UN-level engagement and a fast-growing base of international private investors, and inward, through more precise banking controls around the new foreign real estate ownership regime. The non-oil economy's fastest PMI reading in four months suggests this institution-building is happening against a backdrop of genuine domestic momentum, not despite it. For investors, the themes to watch next are implementation and follow-through: how smoothly banks operationalise the new account rules for foreign property buyers, whether the Voluntary National Review translates into new sector-specific initiatives, and whether venture capital's rapid internationalisation continues to broaden beyond fintech and e-commerce into the sectors SVC has flagged as next in line.

Sources

• SAMA updated bank account requirements for non-resident real estate investors — Maal.

• Saudi Arabia's Voluntary National Review at the UN High-Level Political Forum 2026 — Maal.

• Saudi non-oil private sector PMI, June 2026 — Riyad Bank.

• Foreign investment in Saudi private markets — Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC).