UPDATE 1-Emaar Properties to list mall unit on Dubai bourse

Mon, May 26 03:06 AM EDT (Adds details) DUBAI, May 26 (Reuters) - Dubai's Emaar Properties said on Monday it will list up to 25 percent of its malls business on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), a shift from earlier plans to list on the emirate's smaller Nasdaq Dubai exchange. The builder of one the world's largest malls - Dubai Mall - said it had received regulatory approval for the primary listing of up to a quarter of Emaar Malls Group. Companies listing on DFM are normally required to float stakes of at least 55 percent but exceptions to the rule have been made in the past. Nasdaq Dubai has a much lower free float requirement of 25 percent, but it attracts less trading activity than the DFM and has only 10 listed equities. Timing of the offering and listing would be announced later, the statement said. It is expected to raise 8 to 9 billion dirhams ($2.18-$2.45 billion), making it one of the region's largest equity offers since 2008. Company officials previously said there might be a dual listing on Nasdaq Dubai, the smaller of the emirate's two exchanges, and on the London Stock Exchange. It was not clear whether the company still plans to list in London. Dubai luxury developer DAMAC, the only real estate firm from the emirate to list in London, got a lukewarm response to its share offering in a sign that international investors are still wary of the emirate's property market despite a recent recovery in prices. Sources told Reuters in April that the developer is talking to regulators about the possibility of listing its shopping malls unit on the DFM. The listing is a boost for the Dubai bourse where new IPO activity had died down after the emirate's financial crisis in 2009. A recovery in the economy has prompted more companies to consider new listings. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by David French and Jason Neely) ============================== UAE mid-table in property transparency index Lucy Barnard June 22, 2014 Updated: June 23, 2014 09:09:00 Dubai came 49th and Abu Dhabi 53th in a transparency index of 102 global real estate markets. ■ ‘Property booms are good for UAE economy’, says Damac boss ■ Dubai landlord insists on rent rise at any time if ‘Rera calculator says so’ Photos In pictures: Dh44 million penthouse at Elite Residence is ‘cheap’ ■ Dubai Courts list sheds light on 36 cancelled projects ■ Dubai and Abu Dhabi rental yields may indicate overheating, says UAE Central Bank The new table – which measured real estate markets, most of them national, based on the ease with which property could be bought, sold and valued – ranks Dubai and Abu Dhabi as retaining their places as the top two markets in the Middle East and North Africa. When the study was last conducted in 2012, Dubai ranked 47th and Abu Dhabi came 52nd out of 97. “The UAE has retained its position as the most transparent real estate market in the region, although there has been little further progress made over the past two years,” said JLL, the property consultancy that prepared the index. Overall, the UAE placed behind countries including India, China, Botswana and Thailand in the index. Libya came bottom of the table of the 102 countries surveyed, preceded by Senegal and Myanmar. JLL said that Dubai, which had featured among its “top improvers” in previous surveys “appeared to have lost some impetus” and to have been ”treading water” over the past couple of years. The assessment comes despite the Dubai Land Department putting forward a series of measures aimed at improving the legislative and regulatory environment in an attempt to avoid another real estate bubble. These include a doubling of property transfer fees last year, the announcement of unified real estate contracts and a move by the Central Bank to introduce loan- to-value ratios on mortgages. The report found that Abu Dhabi had a more regulated planning system than Dubai and the quality of real estate was higher than Dubai in several sectors, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as the second most transparent market in the Mena region. However, the report found that there had been “disappointingly little progress elsewhere” in the region. “The Middle East and North Africa remains one of the least transparent regions in the world,” JLL said in its report. “Following encouraging signs of improvement in transparency prior to the global financial crisis, the region has not maintained momentum. While there is increasing recognition across Mena of the importance of improving real estate transparency, in most cases this has failed to translate into firm action.” The Dubai Land Department was unavailable to comment when contacted by The National, while Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council declined to comment. A partner in real estate at the law firm DLA Piper said the emirates would benefit from updated property laws. “The fact that both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have not improved in the rankings in this report probably reflects the fact that there has not really been any new real estate legislation enacted in the emirates over the last two years,” Duncan Pickering said. “In Abu Dhabi the market has been expecting five new real estate laws since 2007 or 2008 on issues such as strata title, an interim register of off-plan sales and escrow accounts. In Dubai there are also laws which have been proposed but not enacted yet,” he said. “And there are a number of issues surrounding successfully implementing existing legislation.” Mr Pickering said transparency attracts investors by reducing perceived risk. “International investors take a global view and compare lots of different markets when they are deciding where to put their money,” he said. “They are usually attracted to markets which have higher levels of transparency so that they can reduce risk. At the moment this is a very competitive market with lots of countries attempting to attract that cash.” JLL singled out Qatar, placing the country on its global top 10 improvers list alongside Zambia, Serbia and Colombia. The improvement came after Qatar announced a new “open data” policy earlier this year which involves plans to release a large quantity of government held, non-personal data to residents and to improve public access to the land registry and other real estate data. Countries were given a composite score based on 115 individual data points and questions for each market. These were based around each country’s transaction processes, regulatory and legal transparency, governance of listed vehicles, the amount of reliable property market data available and the way in which property performance is measured. The United Kingdom retained top spot in the global survey, followed by the United States and Australia. JLL said that over the past two years, it had noted an improvement in transparency from more than 80 per cent of the markets it surveyed as developing countries attempt to attract inward investment to their real estate markets. “The world’s dominant commercial real estate markets are in better shape than at any time since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09,” JLL added. “Levels of capital markets activity are returning to pre-crisis levels and real estate investors are moving up the risk curve into new geographies and property types. Meanwhile, corporates are now executing long-term portfolio strategies and selectively extending their footprints into emerging markets.” “As momentum builds across the global real estate markets, investors, developers and corporate occupiers are demanding (and expecting) ever greater levels of real estate transparency – in terms of legal and regulatory enforcement, financial disclosure, fairness of transaction processes and access to high-quality market data and performance benchmarks.” lbarnard@thenational.ae Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/property/uae-midtable-in-property-transparency-index#ixzz35WbgCqVp Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook ==================================

Emaar plans JV with Dubai Holding for new project

Sun, Jun 09 01:23 AM EDT DUBAI, June 9 (Reuters) - Emaar Properties will form a joint venture with conglomerate Dubai Holding to build a 6.5 million square metre "urban district" in the emirate, the developer said in a statement on Sunday. The new project, Dubai Creek Harbor, will include a business district, shopping, sporting and entertainment facilities, according to the statement. Emaar said it was in the final stages of negotiations with Dubai Holding for the project. Emaar, Dubai's largest listed developer, is part government-owned, while Dubai Holding is part of the Dubai ruler's personal business empire. Separately, Emaar said on Saturday that it formed a joint venture with Meraas Holding to build a huge residential and commercial area near the city's downtown area. (Reporting by Matt Smith; Editing by Dinesh Nair)

MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai jumps as Emaar surges to 6-yr high

Sun, May 04 09:39 AM EDT * Emaar benefits from investors' renewed optimism * Dubai Islamic Bank rises further after strong Q1 results * Abu Dhabi lenders mixed * Blue chips lift Qatar's bourse * Saudi Arabia plays catch-up with other Gulf markets By Olzhas Auyezov DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - Dubai's bourse led gains in the Gulf on Sunday as investors launched a fresh rally and shares in developer Emaar Properties surged to a six-year high. Emaar gained 6.3 percent to 10.45 dirhams, the level last seen in May 2008, on increased volume and helped Dubai's benchmark jump 3.3 percent, also the highest level since 2008. Dubai's largest-listed company launched a 66-storey residential tower in Downtown Dubai on Sunday, and announced sales for the development would start simultaneously in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore on May 10. "I think the sentiment is very good and people have realised that the profit-taking we saw last week was short-lived," said Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investor. Dubai Islamic Bank also contributed to the uptick, rising 5.5 percent to extend gains that started on Thursday when the lender posted a doubling of first-quarter net profit. The bank also said it was in talks to buy a 40 percent stake in an Indonesian Islamic lender. Other property and banking stocks also rose on Sunday. Abu Dhabi's banks, on the other hand, were mixed, leaving the index with a marginal gain of 0.04 percent. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose 2.6 percent while another large lender, First Gulf Bank, slid 1.2 percent. QATAR, SAUDI Doha's bourse gained 1.0 percent on rising volume, continuing the rally that started last week. Industries Qatar and Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan were the main supports, adding 1.5 percent each. At 12,854 points, the index remains below its all-time high of 12,962 points which it hit last month. Saudi Arabia's main index rose 1.0 percent, lifted, just like in the previous session, by petrochemicals and cement makers, as well as banks. Petrochemical stocks gained 1.3 percent while cement makers rose 2.6 percent and banks added 1.1 percent. The kingdom's index has gained 14.3 percent this year, trailing markets in the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Bahrain. "Saudi Arabia has fallen behind other markets and may be catching up now," said Henin from the National Investor. SUNDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS DUBAI * The index rose 3.3 percent to 5,247 points. ABU DHABI * The index gained 0.04 percent to 5,060 points. QATAR * The index climbed 1.0 percent to 12,854 points. SAUDI ARABIA * The index rose 1.0 percent to 9,755 points. KUWAIT * The index slipped 0.07 percent to 7,426 points. BAHRAIN * The index rose 0.9 percent to 1,440 points. OMAN * The index climbed 0.3 percent to 6,764 points. (Editing by Praveen Menon)

Expo 2020: Watch out for these

Mega Developments in Dubai . By Parag Deulgaonkar Dubai developers are set to commence work on several mega projects in the coming months in order to complete and deliver them much earlier than 2020. "The Expo 2020 win for Dubai is a significant milestone, and this will definitely translate into exponential growth across a wide array of sectors, namely hospitality, tourism, trade, shipping and logistics as well as real estate,” Khalid Bin Kalban, CEO, Dubai Investments, told Emirates 24|7. He added: "This overall optimism will translate into investors eyeing long-term investments and growth in all sectors in Dubai. We expect an acceleration in some iconic real estate projects as there will be a spurt in the overall demand from local and international investors. We foresee expectations increase dramatically across the entire spectrum of real estate." But even before winning the Expo 2020 bid, Dubai had started laying the foundation for building mega projects. Last week, MEED Projects estimated the total value of contracts awarded in the UAE during 2013 will close out at approximately $30 billion, but 2014 will see number of awards increasing to $35 billion. "We expect this number to increase significantly over the next few years as the market takes full advantage of Dubai's successful bid," said Julian Herbert, Director of MEED Projects. The following mega mixed-use developments will shape the new landscape and skyline of Dubai. Mohammad Bin Rashid City Dubai announced development of multi-billion-dollar Mohammad Bin Rashid (MBR) City in November 2012. Comprising four key components, the new city will focus on family tourism, retail, arts and entrepreneurship. The first component focuses on family tourism, and will include a park equipped to receive 35 million visitors and a family centre for leisure and entertainment set up in collaboration with Universal Studios. There will be over 100 hotel facilities to meet the needs of visitors. The second component, focusing on retail, will feature the largest shopping mall in the world, “Mall of the World.” The third component will include the largest area for arts galleries in Mena. The fourth component will see the development of a unique area that will provide an integrated environment for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. The new city will be located between Emirates Road, Al Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road, and will include Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens Project. It will be connected to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay through a crossing that will be named the "Cultural Crossing" which will include art galleries and create the largest area for arts in the region. Bluewaters Island The Dh6 billion Bluewaters Island is set to be one of the largest tourist hotspots in the world. It will feature a demarcated retail, residential, hospitality and entertainment zones and will house Dubai Eye, the world’s largest Ferris wheel. Emirates 24|7 reported earlier that the reclamation work has already started. The project is being built near Jumeirah Beach Residence with Meraas Holdings being the developer. Dubai Water Canal The Dh7.34 billion Dubai Water Canal will connect the Business Bay with the Arabian Gulf passing through the heart of Dubai. The waterway will stretch 3 kilometers in length and width ranging from 80 to 120 meters. All construction works of the project’s infrastructure including drilling and building bridges is set for completion in 2017. The canal will add six kilometers to Dubai’s waterfront, while the project will provide an area of over 80 thousand square meters dedicated to public places and vital facilities equipped with many outstanding facilities that meet the expectations and requirements of visitors of all segments of society. The project comprises new shopping and entertainment centres linked through a uniquely designed bridge, over 450 new restaurants along with a wide array of luxurious marinas for yachts, and four world-class hotels. At the entrance of the project from Sheikh Zayed Road, an iconic Trade Centre will be constructed comprising four levels, including one underground level and three elevated levels linking the Business Bay with the project zone in a total area of more than 50 thousand square metres. The project is expected to attract 20 to 22 million visitors per annum. MBR District One With a market value of Dh21 billion, Mohammed Bin Rashid City - District One will have 1,500 luxury villas, a 350,000 square meter water park, the largest crystal lagoon body of water in the world with seven kilometre of lagoons and man-made beaches, retail zones, leisure and sports attractions. The project, which will be delivered in four phases, will be completed in six to eight years time. Work has already commenced on the project, which is a joint venture between Medyan and Sobha Group. Dubai Adventure Studios Meraas Holding is developing a Dh10-billion destination that focuses on delivering a multi-faceted leisure and entertainment experience to residents and tourists. Located at Jebel Ali, the project will feature five distinct theme parks based on movies, animals and fun characters that shall appeal to all demographics. Dubai Adventure Studios, the first phase of the development plans for which were announced by Meraas in December 2011, will anchor the new destination and is expected to be completed by 2014. Deira project Nakheel will built the Deira project, which being be developed on four existing islands of Palm Deira project. The project, covering 1600 hectares, will be a waterfront destination, adding over 40 kilometres, including 21 kilometres of beachfront, to Dubai’s existing coastline. The cost of the project has not been disclosed. Three hectares have been dedicated to hotels and resorts and 424 hectares for mixed-use developments. A night market designed in the style of a Arabic souk will be built, having over 1,400 retail units and restaurants with a number of anchor stores. There will be an amphitheater with a capacity 30,000 people; a creek marina to accommodate large yachts and a range of additional marinas offering mooring facilities directly outside residences. The island will also have a number of waterfront plots for hotels, resorts and serviced apartments. The three remaining islands will also feature hotels, resorts and residential, commercial and retail units. The Lagoons Dubai Holding and Emaar Properties will jointly develop The Lagoons, a waterfront city within the multi-billion-dollar Mohammed Bin Rashid (MBR) City. A master development, which will be over three times the size of Downtown Dubai, will cover an area of six million square metres (over 1,482 acres). The centerpiece of the development will be the Dubai Twin Towers, a mixed-use development, which is envisaged to join the rank of the world’s most prestigious skyscrapers. The fully integrated community will have a central business district, an entrepreneurial zone, cultural amenities, residences, premium and affordable luxury hotels, educational facilities, healthcare centres, a waterfront shopping mall and a wide range of leisure choices. All these key components of this world-class development are designed as inter-connected districts, around waterfronts and green boulevards. The Lagoons stretches from the banks of the Dubai Creek, through central parcels of land linked to Al Khail Road and across Ras Al Khor. Taj Arabia, Mughal Gardens Taj Arabia, a replica of India's Taj Mahal, will be a 350-room hotel and serviced apartments. It will be part of Mughal Gardens development being developed by Link Global Group in Falcon City of Wonders in Dubailand. Taj Arabia will a 350-room hotel and serviced apartments and it will be an all-glass structure. India’s The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts will be managing the hotel.