Construction Nakheel sold 29 homes on stalled Palm Jebel Ali, official data shows Palm Jebel Ali, the Dubai mega project set to be relaunched soon by developer Nakheel, sold a total of 29 homes before work on the project was halted in 2009. State-owned developer Nakheel has confirmed it was set to relaunch the manmade, palm-shaped, island project, which is said to be one-and-a-half times the size of […] September 28, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Economy ‘Everyone’s attacking Truss but her plan will attract foreign investors’, says Damac exec The British government's plans to reduce taxes and planning red tape will attract Gulf investors, says Damac executive Ali Sajwani September 28, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Construction Nakheel confirms relaunch of Palm Jebel Ali Dubai state-owned developer Nakheel has confirmed it is planning to relaunch the Palm Jebel Ali master project, as it looked to take advantage of record demand for real estate in the emirate. Palm Jebel Ali is one of a series of manmade, palm-shaped island projects off the coast of Dubai. Launched in 2002, it stalled […] September 28, 2022
Turkey mulls new regulations to prevent stock market manipulation Turkish authorities are expected to make stock market regulatory changes within a few days to prevent market manipulation after sharp falls in prices due to margin calls on futures positions, market participants and analysts said. They said the issue was likely to be among those discussed at a meeting which President Tayyip Erdogan convened on […] September 25, 2022
Analysis Tourism From Bulgari to Versace: Dubai’s rich splash out on branded homes The UAE is expected to attract the largest net inflow of high net worth individuals globally in 2022 – and with that comes a growing demand for luxury housing. Catering to this income bracket, the branded residences sector has grown by 230 percent across the world over the past decade. Savills, the real estate services […] September 25, 2022
Transport France’s Alstom signs Saudi deal for hydrogen-powered trains State-owned Saudi Railway Company (SAR) has signed a memorandum of understanding with France’s Alstom to develop hydrogen trains for the kingdom. Saudi Arabia in investing heavily to expand its public rail and metro networks and will build 8,000 kilometres of new track, officials said in January. SAR operates the Haramain High Speed Rail between Mecca […] September 22, 2022
Analysis Real Estate ‘Jury’s still out’ on hybrid working, says top fund manager “The jury’s still out” on the post-pandemic model of working partly in the office and partly at home, according to a leading UAE real estate investment trust (REIT) manager. Thierry Leleu, CEO of Equitativa, told AGBI that the “office sector is a sector that we are confident in here in the UAE.” Equitativa is manager […] September 21, 2022
Real Estate Pakistan property sees surge in Gulf-based interest Pakistan’s real estate sector has seen increased interest from Gulf-based investors over the last year, according to data from the country’s largest property portal. The Pakistan Property Show was held in Dubai’s World Trade Centre earlier this month. With over 60 exhibitors, it attracted around 20,000 attendees, including Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of […] September 19, 2022
Analysis Real Estate Rents near record levels in Dubai as interest rates bite House price growth in Dubai fell to its slowest rate in 18 months in August, with experts saying that the rising cost of mortgages is starting to impact the market. While the city’s real estate sector is hitting record highs, rising interest rates are putting the squeeze on some landlords. As a result rents are […] September 15, 2022
Construction Saudi Arabia signs off $6.6bn funding for infrastructure projects Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance has signed financing agreements with several local banks worth SAR 25 billion ($6.6 billion) to implement infrastructure projects The National Debt Management Center arranged the agreements, the ministry said in a statement. The infrastructure projects are scheduled to start in 2023 and 2024. In August, Saad Al-Shahrani, acting deputy minister for […] September 15, 2022
Real Estate Burj Khalifa broke its sales record in 2021 – and is set to do it again The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, recorded its highest residential sales in volume and value last year – and is on track to break that record in 2022. Data from property consultancy Knight Frank and real estate analytics portal REIDIN shows that the volume of residential transactions at the Dubai skyscraper hit 106 in […] September 14, 2022
Construction Building permits up 43% from last year in Qatar Qatar recorded a 43 percent year-on-year increase in the number of building permits issued by various municipalities in August 2022, reaching 784 licenses, the state-owned Qatar News Agency reported, citing the Planning and Statistics Authority. New building permits (residential and non-residential) accounted for 43 percent, or 337 licenses, of the total building permits issued last […] September 12, 2022
Real Estate Dubai on alert as distressed assets become a real possibility Dubai’s real estate sector may be hitting record highs but rising interest rates are putting the squeeze on some landlords, leading to increased opportunities to snap up distressed assets in the coming year. “I had that conversation actually a couple of days ago with one of the local banks,” Thierry Leleu, chief executive officer of […] September 12, 2022
Real Estate Saudi Arabia’s housing loans hit $170bn in Q2 2022 Mortgage loans to individuals and corporates by commercial banks in Saudi Arabia grew to SAR 638 billion ($170 billion) in Q2 2022, from SAR 211 billion in 2017, Arab News reported, citing Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail. The ambition is to make the kingdom top the world in the mortgage […] September 8, 2022
Real Estate Dubai real estate trust eyes Saudi after $400m refinancing Equitativa, the manager of Emirates REIT real estate investment trust, is looking to expand beyond Dubai once it concludes the refinancing of its $400 million sukuk within the next two months. The firm is also keen to launch new real estate trusts outside the UAE, in Saudi Arabia and Africa. Founded in 2010, the Emirates […] September 7, 2022
Real Estate PIF-backed refinance firm aims to raise around $800m via sukuk Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co (SRC), the Saudi equivalent of US mortgage finance business Fannie Mae, will soon issue around SAR 3 billion ($798.34 million) in local currency sukuk, or Islamic bonds, its chief executive said on Tuesday. HSBC, Bank AlJazira, Al Rajhi, Riyad Capital and SNB Capital are running the debt sale, which is […] September 7, 2022
Analysis Construction ‘The biggest construction site the world has ever seen’ Saudi Arabia was described on Tuesday as the biggest construction site the world has ever seen as projects valued at over $1.1 trillion are underway in the kingdom. That’s the total value of real estate and infrastructure projects since the launch of Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan in 2016, according to global real estate consultancy […] September 6, 2022
Real Estate PIF launches digital platform for Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has launched the National Real Estate Registration Services Company (RER), a new digital platform which aims to develop the kingdom’s local real estate sector. The platform will be developed in cooperation with the Real Estate General Authority, and other government entities, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement. […] September 5, 2022
Aldar Properties acquires security services provider for $34m Abu Dhabi-listed Aldar Properties has acquired Spark Security Services, a UAE-based security services provider, for AED 125 million ($34.03 million). The all-cash transaction strengthens the UAE developer’s property and integrated facilities management platform, WAM, the UAE state news agency, reported. These security services will add significant value to Aldar’s AED 23 billion ($6.3 billion) portfolio […] September 4, 2022
Construction Construction complete on $32m Sharjah waterfront project Construction work on the AED119 million ($32.40 million) Kalba Waterfront in the eastern region of Sharjah is 100 percent complete, state news agency WAM reported, citing the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). Eagle Hills Sharjah Development, a joint venture between Shurooq and Eagle Hills, is a waterfront destination that is part of the Kalba eco-tourism project. […] September 2, 2022
Empower reports 41.3% rise in buildings using district cooling Dubai-based Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) reported a 41.3 percent growth in the number of buildings using its district cooling services over the last five years. The number of buildings reached 1,413 by the end of 2021, 13 percent higher year-on-year, the company said in a statement. In 2021, Empower’s district cooling market share […] August 30, 2022
Interview Real Estate Empowering more Emirati women to invest in real estate Latifa Bin Haider tells AGBI about her mission to transform investment opportunities for women in Dubai’s booming real estate market With the launch of Baytuki, a new crowdfunding platform, Emirati social entrepreneur Latifa Bin Haider aims to enable Emirati women of all ages and income brackets to secure financial prosperity by making micro investments in […] August 29, 2022
