Daikin has established a new company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Daikin Air Conditioning Saudi Arabia LLC is a joint venture with RIRAC, a Saudi company which is part of the Rajhi Holdings and Al Mutlaq Group conglomerate. Daikin has 75% equity in the new business, with RIRAC holding a 25% share.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest HVAC market in the Middle East and offers many opportunities. Daikin aims to secure around 10% market share there by 2015 and around 20% by 2018.

There is increasing demand for air conditioning in Saudi Arabia as the government continues to support major urban development programmes. Due to the expansion of major housing schemes the demand for domestic air conditioning is also growing. As a direct result, the HVAC market in the region is forecast to grow to US$1.4bn by 2015.

The new company will boost Daikin's sales strength and service capacity to access this growing region. It will offer the full line up of products from residential air conditioning to large scale applied machinery. Around 90 staff are expected to be recruited during the first year of operations. Daikin's aim is to become the market leader in the Saudi Arabian market.