The General Authority for Endowments deposits profits for 2025 and achieves record returns
The General Authority for Endowments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the official commencement of depositing investment profits realized for the fiscal year 2025, allocated to the funds of endowed real estate held by the Authority. This strategic step underscores the Authority's ongoing commitment to maximizing, developing, and enhancing endowment returns, ensuring financial sustainability and bolstering the efficiency of managing the Kingdom's diverse endowment assets, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
A pioneering investment methodology followed by the General Authority for Endowments
The Authority explained that the total cumulative profits achieved for endowments since the start of the investment process have reached approximately 1.58 billion Saudi riyals. This substantial figure reflects the effectiveness of the modern investment methodology adopted by the General Authority for Endowments in managing and developing the funds deposited with it. These policies aim to maximize the economic and social impact of endowments, while fully committing to ensuring the accurate and rigorous implementation of the donors' conditions, thus contributing to building a robust and sustainable endowment sector.
Historical background and structural transformation of the endowments sector in the Kingdom
Historically, the endowments sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has undergone several developmental phases, culminating in the establishment of the General Authority for Endowments as a public entity with legal personality and financial and administrative independence. A Cabinet decision issued on 24 Muharram 1446 AH granted the Authority full authority to invest the funds of endowed real estate expropriated for public benefit, or those for which the competent court has approved their disposal. This organizational transformation enabled the Authority to shift from a traditional charitable role to a sophisticated investment and development role, based on professional principles and international standards in risk management and the preservation of the endowments' core capital.
The developmental and social impact of promoting endowment investments
The impact of these investment returns extends beyond the individual financial well-being of endowments, serving as a fundamental pillar of sustainable development at the local and regional levels. By channeling these profits into developmental and social projects, endowments contribute to strengthening social solidarity and supporting the most vulnerable groups, while also alleviating the burden on the state budget in the areas of education, health, and social welfare. Regionally and internationally, the Kingdom presents a model to be emulated in endowment governance and its transformation into productive assets that effectively contribute to the gross domestic product, thus reinforcing the position of the Islamic endowment economy as a stable development tool resilient to economic crises.
Digital transformation and facilitating profit verification through the “Awqaf” platform
In its ongoing efforts to streamline procedures and enhance transparency, the Authority has enabled endowment trustees to easily verify their accrued profits electronically. Trustees can utilize the “Investment of Funds Authorization” service available through the “Awqaf” digital services platform. The Authority urges all trustees who have not yet registered on the platform to do so promptly to benefit from the comprehensive suite of digital services that allow them to accurately monitor their endowments and enhance the efficiency of managing and utilizing investment returns in a way that serves the public interest of the endowment.
