Sheikh Yousef Al Shelash is a savvy businessman. He's the chairman of the Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company. The Saudi Arabia-based business recently revealed it had reached a deal with former president of the United States Donald Trump's family business to present Trump-branded villas as well as a hotel and golf course at its hilltop paradise project Aida.
Aida is just 20 minutes from downtown Muscat, Oman's port capital city. The luxury development is worth $4 billion. It will feature spectacular glass pods nestled high in the hilltops. Sheikh Yousef Al Shelash said that the architect that designed the pods "still can't believe we are going to find a way to suspend them." There are equally impressive medium-sized villas, town houses, and low-rise apartments for the less adventurous.
The Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company's chairman cited the Trump Organization's reputation for upholding the highest standards in quality and detail as a motivator for the partnership. Al Shelash says the company "always wants to enhance [its] unique projects with premium facilities and experiences."
The Trump Organization's executive vice president, Eric Trump, said that the company sought to partner with a fantastic team on a project in a magnificent location. Aida and the real estate development company, led by Al Shelash, checked all those boxes. "Together with Dar Al Arkan, we will deliver an exceptional Trump golf resort with the finest residential villas, a world-class hotel, and an iconic golf course, all in one of the most beautiful settings," stated Trump.
Who Is Sheikh Yousef Al Shelash?
Al Shelash got his business acumen from watching how his father handled the real estate industry. "I grew up with a father who believed in real estate investing," Sheikh Yousef Al Shelash stated. He explained that his father was involved in land trading in what used to be Palestine in the 1940s.
Al Shelash is also the chairman of Bahrain's Bank Alkhair and Saudi Home Loans Co. He received a well-rounded education. The Saudi national earned a Bachelor of Science in Shariah from Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. In addition, he has diplomas for combating financial crimes and banking, and also earned a Master of Science in law and legal proceedings from the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
That education helped propel him to actively work to bring real estate funds to the Middle East. "I [felt that] using my experience in law could get me into drafting funds," stated Yousef Al Shelash. His intuition paid off. He played in part in propelling the popularity of real estate funds and home mortgage loans throughout the Kingdom, partly because his law degree made him more trustworthy.
The lack of management and regulations in the Saudi mortgage space became a major obstacle for Al Shelash. "When I started, regulation was just starting up. People did not understand that they could take a loan for 15 years, 20 years, or 25 years," he said. "At the same time, the full mortgage loan was still not established; if you don't pay the loan, the house is foreclosed, and you end up losing your investment. So the main challenge was evolving with the evolution of the regulation."
The culture in Saudi Arabia was to save enough to have the full price of a house or to buy land upon which to build eventually. But, Al Shelash said, "Saudi Home Loans came in with a completely different concept. Suddenly, people didn't need to wait until they had saved the full price. This helped so many people to have their first home."
Once more people could afford to finance a home, the demand for homes increased. Necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes. So as Al Shelash's hopes for the future of mortgages in the Middle East began to become a reality, he got busy building a real estate development empire. Today, the three companies under his chairmanship translate into about 55 billion riyals - approximately $15 billion - of assets under management.
Persuading the World Bank to be part of Saudi Home Loans was a significant win for the financial company. Al Shelash stated, "Once so many of the banking institutions saw the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank getting involved by financing the company to provide these loans, [it] gave a lot of trust to so many of the banking institutions." After one of the first fundings came from the World Bank, the other banking institutions followed.
The Saudi Arabian Businessman Formed Dar Al Arkan With Five Other Families
The chairman was in his late 20s when he formed the real estate development company with five other families, which he said were also "still very young." The six families recognized an opportunity in the market in Saudi Arabia. "Because Saudi was newly allowing what you might call in the U.S. real estate funds, although not in the same context of the real estate funds of Saudi Arabia," Sheik Yousef Al Shelash said. "Now, after 15 years, you have a fully developed mortgage market in Saudi Arabia. It is similar to the United States."
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company started with small projects. "Definitely, the market growth helped," stated Al Shelash. The company went public in December 2007. Today, it's listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange, operates in eight countries, and has delivered 15,000 units. It's involved in projects throughout the Middle East, including Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Muscat, Oman; and Riyadh, Jeddah, Mekkah, Medina, and Qassim in Saudi Arabia.
However, Aida is truly one of the company's crowning achievements. "Our partnership with Trump will distinguish Dar Al Arkan's first project in Oman and put it on the global map," stated Al Shelash. The project spans 3.5 million square meters and will take a decade to complete; construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023. The Aida project looms 100 meters over the sea and offers spectacular panoramic views.
The real estate development company and the Trump Organization are working together to construct a cutting-edge golf facility, including a sizable golf club. It's expected to elevate and set a new standard for golf in the Middle East.