Quara Finance Announces a New Partnership

RIYADH, January 2021 Arabian Centers Company (ACC), the leading owner and operators of lifestyle destinations in Saudi Arabia, and Quara Finance, a leading Saudi company providing Shariah compliant financial services, have announced, today, a new partnership to finance entrepreneurs’ businesses in ACC shopping centres.

The joint agreement was signed in presence of Arabian Centers Company’s CEO, Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Jadaie and Quara Finance’s CEO, Ehab bin Mahmoud Hassouba. On this occasion, Al-Jadaie and Hassoubah emphasized the importance of innovating new channels to finance and support the entrepreneurship business by providing innovative financing solutions. They also affirmed the important role of this step in supporting the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to improve their capital management efficiency, enhance their competitiveness and their ability to meet customer needs in the long term.

The agreement was designed by Quara Finance to provide several benefits that are consistent with entrepreneurship businesses’ requirements, especially in the most attractive shopping centres for both visitors and shoppers, which is a characteristic of ACC’s portfolio of the leading shopping centres in the Kingdom.

Arabian Centers Company’s CEO Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Jedaie praised Quara Finance’s long experience in developing this flexible agreement, which seeks to support the SME sector. He also welcomed the opportunity to join with Quara Finance and offer a range of support regarding rent and leasing costs for small Saudi businesses. It also provides the necessary liquidity and supports the operational costs of SMEs projects

“This step targets 500 SMEs located in 21 ACC malls in the Kingdom, and this agreement aims to improve the financial position of the Arabian Centers Company and increasing the occupancy rates in its shopping centres as well, which will make them more attractive to all categories of its tenants alike. Also, ACC, as the leading company, is responsible of enabling the Kingdom’s SME sector to meet the aspirations of the Saudi Vision 2030 and support the national economy,” he noted.

Arabian Centres is working continuously on inaugurating new lifestyle destinations in all Saudi regions, such as the expansion project of its leading shopping center in Riyadh, i.e. “Al-Nakheel Mall,” and the “U Walk” centre in Riyadh, which is an open-air centre that has been developed based on a new concept in the Saudi market. Both destinations include classy international and local restaurants and cafes, well-known fashion stores and entertainment areas, such as cinemas, bowling, sport clubs and beauty centers.

Quara Finance’s CEO Ehab Hassoubah also welcomed this partnership with Arabian Centers, which represents an important step in supporting the SME sector. He said, “Start-up businesses are an important part of the Saudi national economy and economic cycle and we need to provide them with effective and sustainable incentives to ensure their continued success.”

Quara Finance aims to raise financial technology solutions to enhance its leadership in the digital growth field in align with its new identity. Its strategy focuses on raising the quality of its services and products, adopting financial technology solutions, and keeping up with the rapid changes of the Kingdom’s financing sector.

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About Arabian Centres

Arabian Centres is the leading owner, operator and developer of Lifestyle Centres in Saudi Arabia. For almost two decades, the Company has offered a complete range of high-quality Lifestyle Centres up to international standards, located in the most attractive areas of the country to satisfy all shopping, entertainment and other services’ needs.

As of 31 December 2020, Arabian Centres operates a portfolio of 21 centres strategically located in 11 Saudi cities. The Company’s developments include several iconic Lifestyle Centres, such as Mall of Arabia Jeddah, Mall of Dhahran, and Nakheel Mall Riyadh – which was recognized at the Arab Luxury World Forum in 2017 as being visitors’ favorite shopping mall in Riyadh.

The Company’s Lifestyle Centres house more than 4,100 stores, 1100 brands and hosted approximately 111 million visitors in FY2020. For more information about Arabian Centres Company, please visit www.arabiancentres.com

About Quara Finance

Quara Finance is a leading Saudi company providing Sharia-compliant financial services. it was established in 2009, previously known as Maalem Financing with a capital of SAR 300 million. The company has a long experience in providing financing solutions that meet the personal needs of individuals and SMEs. a leading contributor to the growth of the Saudi finance sector through its efforts to provide Sharia-compliant financial services and enhance innovative financial technology products and solutions.