Further laws needed to attract investment

A straw poll of business leaders in the region suggests that it took anything between one to three months for the contagion of the global financial meltdown to make its way from the epicentre, Wall Street in New York, to the warm shores of the UAE. Whatever your view on how, why and when the downturn actually happened, it doesn't take an economist to understand the colossal collapse of the re ... more

Administrator for speedy work on all projects

KARACHI: Administrator Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Muhammad Hussain Syed has directed the Works and Services Department to speed up work on all ongoing projects in the city and ensure completion of projects in time. He also directed DG KMC Technical Services Altaf G Memon to personally oversee the work on development projects and submit daily report on the progress of work on impor ... more

Real estate companies will be trained in corporate governance

Dubai: Property companies based in the emirate are to receive new training in an attempt to boost transparency and enhance foreign investment in the market, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) said yesterday. The training, which begins later this month, is centred around the implementation of the governance charter and will be conducted in three phases. Rera is the regulatory arm of t ... more

Nakheel: We've paid Dh7.3b to creditors since 2010

Dubai: Nakheel, Dubai property developer, said Thursday it had paid $2 billion (Dh7.3 billion) to trade creditors, following the restructuring of the company, since 2010.

“We are pleased to announce that Nakheel has to date made payments of Dh7.3 billion to its trade creditors,” a Nakheel spokesperson said.

“Today’s announcement marks another significant progress in our re ... more

China realty curbs risky as global crisis grows

Shanghai: China's attempts to deflate its property bubble come at a perilous time.

Fears that the euro might collapse, unleashing a tsunami of financial and economic disruptions around the globe, have added urgency to concerns that China's campaign to cool overheated housing prices may go too far. As economic growth wanes, Beijing has begun easing tight credit policies meant to coo ... more

Iceland rejects Chinese tycoon's $200m land purchase proposal

London: Iceland's government denied Chinese billionaire investor Huang Nubo permission to purchase land in the island's north, saying such a transfer of property would be "incompatible" with the country's laws. The government won't let Huang, through his company Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group Co, proceed with a planned acquisition of 300 square kilometres of land, the Reykjavik-based Inter ... more

Abu Dhabi adjusts to economic realities

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi was set to avoid the pitfalls suffered by its Gulf neighbours with a decades-long plan to replace oil revenue with industry and tourism as drivers of growth. Now those plans need to be scaled back as companies behind some of the biggest developments cut jobs and push back projects, said Gassan Chehayeb, associate director of research at Dubai-based Exotix. Delays include  ... more

Should Obama let vultures clean up the housing mess?

Washington: Here's a unique proposal for the Obama administration, which has been casting around for ways to revive the housing sector: Let the market do its job. Housing ranks among the biggest drags on the US recovery. Almost 11 million households still owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. Foreclosures are piling up as banks take years to repossess and sell homes. Those  ... more

Deyaar posts Dh45m profit as revenues rise, costs fall

Dubai: Deyaar Development made a profit of Dh45 million in the first nine months of 2011 and is poised to deliver two towers by year-end, the company said in a statement to Dubai's bourse yesterday.

The real estate firm was affected by the collapse of Dubai's property sector and posted a net loss of Dh489 million in the corresponding period last year.

Deyaar did not provid ... more

Sorouh net profit rises to Dh83.6m on higher revenue

Abu Dhabi: Sorouh Real Estate's third quarter net profit increased to Dh83.6 million due to more handovers and higher rental income compared with Dh62.9 million for the corresponding period in 2010.

"Net profit for the nine-month period was Dh285 million compared to Dh215 million," said chief financial officer Richard Amos.

"Sorouh's third-quarter revenues more than double ... more

Al Maabar launches new Morocco apartments

Abu Dhabi: Real estate development company Al Maabar has launched a new range of apartments in the Arts District of its Bab Al Bahr development in Rabat Sal, Morocco.

The first of the 390 apartments are scheduled to be completed in June 2012, Al Maabar said.

Surrounded by gardens and green spaces, the Arts District will host a variety of residential buildings, a five star  ... more

Property sales will stay sluggish

Dubai: Average sales rates across Dubai are predicted to continue falling after Eid, according to property analysts. Rates are expected to see a fall of 10 to 15 per cent across Dubai during the remainder of this year, according to Matthew Green, head of research and consultancy at CBRE. "However, we have to consider the fractional nature of the market as it stands, where individual developme ... more

UK building society expects more mergers

London: The UK building society sector will continue to see one or two mergers a year as the mutual lenders face pressures from low profitability, says KPMG, the professional services firm. The sector, down to 48 societies after a wave of mergers and takeovers in the financial crisis and downturn, will have a "continuing trickle" of deals, said Richard Gabbertas, a partner in KPMG's financial ... more

Developers keep bonds on hold in deflated market

Dubai: The UAE's developers and contractors may struggle to tap the bond market until a glut of homes that's weighing on prices is sold off. Arabtec Holding, the country's biggest construction company, mall-developer Majid Al Futtaim Group and Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Co. were forced to delay plans to issue bonds. The country's non-real estate companies raised about $9 b ... more

Expanding horizons

When I visited Ross Gardiner, director of Lannhill Real Estate, an agency in Dubai, he was busy chasing up the expansion work at the company’s new office. Office furniture and work stations were being put in place, and it was good to sit amid all the activity inside indicating Lanhill’s activity picking up outside.

“We have moved from a 1,200 square feet office in the marina to a 4, ... more