Kuwait, 15 May 2024: Kuwait International Bank (KIB), represented by its Real Estate Department, organized a practical workshop at the College of Business Administration at Kuwait University, in response to an invitation to discuss the fundamentals of investment and real estate appraisal. Held at the university's campus in Shadadiya, the workshop was attended by several faculty members and students from the College. Fahad Alsaleh, Manager of the Real Estate Advisory Division and the Product Development and Support Division (PDSD) at KIB's Real Estate Department, and Engineer Hossam Al-Kolak, Real Estate Expert in the Real Estate Department, shared their expertise and technical knowledge in the real estate field with the future generation of entrepreneurs and leaders in real estate development in the country. This distinguished initiative comes as part of the Bank’s commitment to its comprehensive social responsibility strategy and the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on integrating practical studies into the academic curriculum.

During the workshop, following an introduction that included an overview of the KIB's history in the real estate field spanning over five decades since its establishment in 1973, Alsaleh provided a comprehensive overview of real estate investment to the students. He discussed its main aspects and presented several examples on how to invest in the real estate market, both locally and globally. He highlighted its importance as one of the best tangible assets, noting that the market remains stable and sustainable compared to others, despite various changes and circumstances. Additionally, Alsaleh discussed the differences between types of real estate, such as private residential, investment residential, commercial buildings, complexes, and others.

Discussing the various administrative and financial services, including Islamic financing, aimed at developing the real estate sector in Kuwait, Alsaleh highlighted one of the most prominent services: real estate appraisal. This service includes property inspections for customers, conducting economic feasibility studies for projects, determining rents for various property units, estimating construction costs, and providing consultations and technical reports for various real estate projects. Additionally, it involves monitoring project implementation and the stages of completion. He added that the field of real estate appraisal is considered a prestigious profession globally due to the expertise, precise engineering insight, and scientific applications required to determine a fair value for the property being evaluated.

In his turn, Engineer Al-Kolak addressed several factors that can directly or indirectly affect property values, explaining that there are natural and regulatory factors, as well as economic and social ones. He provided a detailed explanation of the methods and approaches to determining a fair value for properties considering these factors. Among the most important methods are the cost approach, the income capitalization approach, and the market sales comparison approach. He illustrated these with examples from the Kuwaiti market and discussed the impact of architectural design on the economic feasibility of real estate projects with the students.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the university team expressed their appreciation to KIB's Real Estate Department for their efforts in preparing and delivering a workshop rich in knowledge and valuable information. Alsaleh also expressed his gratitude for the invitation to share KIB's extensive and comprehensive expertise in the field of investment and real estate appraisal.

It is worth noting that KIB's Real Estate Department is the primary reference for several key government entities, banking institutions, as well as investment and real estate companies. These entities continually benefit from the comprehensive services provided by the Department, given KIB's extensive and long-standing expertise in this field, dating back to its establishment in 1973 under the name 'Kuwait Real Estate Bank.'