Fino will expand operations to Saudi Arabia in Q1, 2016, on the back of growing demand in the infrastructure and hospitality sectors, managing partner Talal Saeed told Construction Business News ME, during the exhibition.
He explained: “Due to the religious pilgrimage, Hajj, Saudi Arabia has great potential in the hospitality sector as millions of pilgrims pour in every year. Due to which there are a large number of hotels in the pipeline, as well as projects like Riyadh Metro and new real estate developments.”
Fino is headquartered in the UAE with a second office in Qatar. Saeed observes the GCC as a whole is a lucrative market but comes with its fair share of challenges. In Saudi Arabia, he said that one of the major challenge is acquiring visas (especially for labour), while Qatar has the limitation of bringing skilled workforce from only certain nationalities.
He observes that UAE has comparatively fewer limitations, however, dealing with the tough competition in the market can pose challenges.