Leading Developer to Bring Tokenization to KSA Real Estate

Knight Dragon Targets Middle East Expansion Plan, Schedules Office Opening in Saudi Arabia

Knight Dragon (www.knightdragon.com), the leading international property developer, announced details of the company’s Middle East expansion plans and confirmed it is scheduled to open an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the fourth quarter of 2023. Knight Dragon’s leadership also outlined corporate interest in identifying partnerships in the Middle East where the developer could share its proven experience and capability in the fast-growing areas of building tokenization, real estate blockchain technology, modular integrated construction and next-generation lightweight concrete.

Saudi Arabia is now a clear global leader in visionary infrastructure projects with plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade. “Just looking at NEOM alone shows the scale of the ambition of the Saudi Arabian leadership. Valued at US$500 billion, NEOM will be a 26,500 square kilometre development stretching across the borders of northwest Saudi Arabia into Jordan and Egypt. Expected to be complete by 2030, it will be a development almost the size of Belgium and comprises four megacities including Sindalah, Trojena, Oxagon and the LINE,” said Sammy Lee, Vice Chairman, Knight Dragon.

Close to 7% of Saudi Arabia's GDP comes from real estate, making it a critical sector that underpins many others. As the Saudi economy diversifies, the goal is to double the sector's contribution to GDP to 10% by 2030. Like Saudi Arabia, Knight Dragon has built its reputation on undertaking ambitious, challenging projects and creating entire new cities with its Greenwich Peninsula landmark project in London, United Kingdom. One of the largest regeneration projects in Europe, Greenwich Peninsula is a US$10.5 billion, 30-year project fast becoming the capital's most boldly modern landscape.

“Knight Dragon recognises and respects what Saudi Arabia is building and developing and shares the bold vision the country’s leadership has created. We see many similarities in our approach to large-scale development and this has spurred our interest in creating closer ties to the Kingdom specifically and UAE, Qatar and the Middle East generally. We have confirmed plans to open an office and presence in Riyadh in the fourth quarter of 2023 and will be exporting our experience, technology and skill in fast-growing areas of construction: building tokenization, advanced blockchain technology, integrated modular construction and next-generation lightweight concrete,” said Lee.

Building Tokenisation and Blockchain – Real estate tokenization and revolutionary blockchain technology application is gaining popularity in developed economies with Knight Dragon anticipating the same growth in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Knight Dragon, via its subsidiary KD Tokens, launched Central London's first property tokenisation project at a market valuation of US$175 million in June 2022. At a corporate level, through this tokenisation and blockchain technology, Knight Dragon revolutionised the entire European property market and is now moving to do so internationally. At an individual level, for a relatively modest investment, individuals can own a portion of Central London real estate profits.

Modular Integrated Construction – Knight Dragon management are also active in the Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI) (www.nami.org.hk), the Hong Kong-based R&D organization. Ideally suited for warmer climates, Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) is an innovative construction method offering the merits of shortened construction period, better quality control, less demand for on-site labour and reduction in commercial waste.

Next-Generation Lightweight Concrete Technology – NAMI owns the patent rights of specialised lightweight concrete which achieves high levels of structural strength but weighs only 60% of normal concrete. Lightweight concrete has several benefits, including greater sustainability, reduced weight, improved insulation and increased fire resistance.

“Pioneering in property construction and value-creation are central to Knight Dragon. We are entrepreneurial, creative-spirited makers of places who bring new ideas and set new standards for modern living. Being the first company to tokenise an entire building in Central London fits exactly with our bold vision for the global property industry. As Saudi Arabia continues its world-leading development and creates new global hubs, backed by plans for an exciting new airline, NEOM Airlines, Knight Dragon seeks to add value and skill where we have capability. Core to our capability is our pioneering experience in building tokenization, modular technology and next generaXtion lightweight concrete technology. We are confident our experience and skill in these areas will be of great value to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and the entire Middle East as the region turns vision into reality and achieves its goal of building the future,” concluded Lee.