Raza, the real estate management arm of Saudi Public Pension Agency (PPA) and a subsidiary of Al Ra’idah Investment Company (RIC), has launched operations in the Kingdom, in line with its new growth strategy, it has been announced.

In a statement, the company said that the new growth strategy will see it double its portfolio to $6.9 billion in assets under management (AUM) by 2024. Previously known as Al Ra’idah, under its new identity, the company has established an integrated real estate management platform to focus beyond property development and to offer asset management, property management and commercial services.

Raza currently manages a total AUM of $3.46 billion, covering two million sqm of high-quality office, mixed-use and community developments in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, the statement added. It is currently completing a development pipeline of 4,600 residential units in Digital City and Jeddah Obhur.

Together with its existing compound assets and residential portfolio in the Diplomatic Quarter, Raza will emerge as the largest community landlord in the Kingdom by 2020, it said.

“We launched the Raza model in order to build on our unrivalled experience with delivering large challenging projects in Saudi Arabia. Raza is designed to preserve and enhance the value of these big investments with a strategic, life cycle approach to asset management,” said Waleed Aleisa, CEO of Raza.

“Our model is to combine our local knowledge and relationships with global institutional standards,” he added.

He explained that Raza has charted out a five-year growth strategy with placemaking and developing integrated communities acting as critical growth catalysts in doubling its portfolio to nearly $6.93 billion in AUM by 2024.

The current occupancy rates across its portfolio stand at 85%, with some of the prominent developments, such as Digital City in Riyadh, close to being fully leased, Aleisa added.

“As we are preparing to launch a new phase of our growth journey, our road to success is built on developing local talent, technology innovation, and a renewed focus on customers.  If we achieve these goals, we will deliver higher returns for our owners and reduce the cost-ratio of our operations,” remarked Aleisa.

As part of the growth strategy, Raza has also launched a digital transformation programme to deliver improved operational efficiency and customer experience, he added.

“In keeping with our commitment to professionalise the market, the next few months will see us introducing new-to-market concepts to Saudi Arabia that enhance integrated community experience where people want to live, work and relax.

“In this context, technology plays a critical role and the digital transformation journey will help us introduce several industry-first propositions in the region,” he concluded.