Dubai attracts property investors again

Dubai has again started attracting wealthy Pakistanis, who are fed up with the deteriorating law and order situation at home. — File Photo

KARACHI: Dubai has again started attracting wealthy Pakistanis, who are fed up with the deteriorating law and order situation at home and disappointed with the depressive economic growth.

Property dealers, bankers and exchange companies said millions of dollars had been transferred to Dubai during a year, while dozens of Pakistanis left the country fearing loss of life and property.ve this city to protect their life and property.

‘Debt talks with Dubai firm delayed’

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s PT Bakrieland Development, the Bakrie Group’s property arm, said on Wednesday that talks with a Dubai property firm over a $110 million strategic investment have been postponed again.

Bakrieland in 2008 agreed to sell a 30 per cent stake in its subsidiary, PT Bakrie Swasakti Utama, to Dubai World’s property arm, Limitless Holding, for $110 million but so far, the Dubai company has only paid $37 million.

Debt plan well received: Dubai finance chief

DUBAI: Dubai’s proposed $9.5 billion plan to address its embattled conglomerate Dubai World’s debt crisis has been well received, Dubai’s finance chief was quoted as saying on Friday.

Abdulrahman al Saleh, director general of the Dubai finance department, said in remarks to be aired in a television interview that the initial response was a “preliminary indication that the plan would be accepted”.

Dealmakers meet to sort $26bn Dubai World debt

DUBAI: Bankers gathered in Dubai on Wednesday to hammer out a $26 billion debt plan with state-owned Dubai World as a repayment deadline loomed, adding to pressure on the glitzy emirate to settle the conglomerate’s debt.

Core creditors representing 97 banks met to finalise months of talks on how Dubai World can restructure the debt, about a quarter of Dubai’s estimated total debt of $101 billion. Markets anticipated a deal favourable to lenders, with the cost of insuring Dubai sovereign debt falling and bond prices rising for Dubai World unit Nakheel, the property firm that built a giant island replica of the Earth.

Abu Dhabi’s financial lifeline to Dubai is loan

Friday, December 18, 2009
DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s last-minute lifeline to debt-laden Dubai, which prevented a potential major default, was an interest-bearing commercial loan and not a handout, a government-owned daily said on Thursday.

“It’s in (the form of) bonds,” the Emirates Business newspaper reported, quoting a source close to the Dubai government.

Abu Dhabi vows to fight for rights in Citi dispute

Thursday, December 17, 2009
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi’s main sovereign wealth fund, which is alleging fraud over its $7.5 billion investment in Citigroup Inc, vowed Wednesday to fight for its “legal rights” as it seeks compensation or an exit from the deal.

Word of the dispute emerged late on Tuesday when Citi issued a brief statement saying it had been hit with an arbitration claim from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority alleging “fraudulent misrepresentations” in connection with the two-year-old agreement.

UAE stocks end volatile day down after Dubai bailout

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
DUBAI: Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates closed with losses on a volatile on Tuesday as investors took profits and digested the previous day’s news that Abu Dhabi would bail out debt-ridden Dubai.

The Dubai Financial Market index fell 1.49 per cent to finish at 1,843.27 points despite a bullish performance in early trading, when the DFM rose by several percentage points at one stage. On Monday the exchange had surged more than 10 per cent as Dubai’s government said it would pay $4.1 billion to cover maturing bonds issued by its Nakheel property giant after receiving the 10-billion-dollar handout.

Abu Dhabi’s financial favour to Dubai may carry price tag

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
DUBAI: Dubai has been let off the hook for now over its imminent debt thanks to a hefty lifeline from Abu Dhabi, but the price it may have to pay its deep-pocketed neighbour for the favour remains to be seen.

The city-state surprised the markets on Monday when it said it will pay $4.1 billion of maturing bonds issued by its troubled Nakheel giant property developer after it had requested a standstill on payments.

Abu Dhabi bails out Dubai with $10 billion

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi stepped in to help fellow United Arab Emirates member Dubai with a $10 billion injection, of which $4.1 billion was allocated to troubled state-owned conglomerate Dubai World to pay immediate obligations, Dubai said on Monday.
 
The move was the least expected of all options Dubai had on the table after requesting a standstill on $26 billion in Dubai World debt on Nov. 25, alarming markets and shaking the image of the emirate as a regional business hub.

Local investors injected billions into Dubai real estate

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
By Saad Hasan

KARACHI: Pakistanis have invested billions of dollars in Dubai real estate which saw a steep fall in its value in a few days back after a large emirate corporation sought rescheduling of debt to evade a possible default, industry people told The News.

It is hard to establish exactly how much is stuck in the once-booming construction industry since most of the investments were funneled through the illegal network of Hundi brokers, they say. “There are no data available on such investments because money was not transferred from here in the first place,” says Akeel Karim Dhedi, a stock market broker. “Rather the foreign exchange that was supposed to make its way here just stopped there at Dubai.”

Japan firms owed $7.5b by Dubai: report

TOKYO: Japan's non-financial firms had some 7.5 billion dollars in uncollected bills from the Dubai government and its affiliated firms as of the end of October, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

The data, excluding bank loans, was derived from a total of 18 projects worth about 15 billion dollars and involving Japanese general contractors, trading houses and electric machinery manufacturers, the daily said.

Dubai tops global list for house price declines

DUBAI: Dubai property prices declined nearly 50 percent in the last year, according to a new report, making it the worst performing real estate market in the world.

The latest Knight Frank Global House Price Index for Q3 2009 surveyed house prices in 42 countries and Dubai was the worst performer on the list, with prices falling 47 percent year-on-year.

The index showed lower prices in 57 percent of the world's residential property markets, with Dubai prices falling the most, and Israel performing best, recording a 13.7 percent increase.

UK road maintenance co pulls out of Dubai

Saturday, December 12, 2009
LONDON: British road and infrastructure maintenance company Mouchel Group PLC said on Friday it is closing its operations in Dubai as it continues attempts to recover 10 million pounds ($16.3 million) owed by clients.

Mouchel said it is refocusing its Middle Eastern business to oil-rich Abu Dhabi, where it believes the “long term outlook is favourable and there are immediate opportunities.”

Dubai economy to rebound 2pc in 2010

Saturday, December 12, 2009
DUBAI: The economy of Dubai is expected to grow 2-3 per cent in 2010 after contracting about 2 per cent this year due to slowing real estate and construction sectors, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Friday.

Sami al-Qamzi, the head of the economic development department, told the state television the economy shrank 1.47 per cent in the first half of 2009, al-Ittihad and al-Khaleej newspapers reported.

Dubai stocks gain 7pc

Friday, December 11, 2009
DUBAI: Dubai’s stock market closed 7.0 per cent higher on Thursday, its biggest gain since the debt crisis exploded, and led by Emaar Properties after it called off a merger with state-owned entities.

The Dubai Financial Market index closed 107.4 points up at 1,640.76 points. Shares in Emaar, the Middle East’s largest property firm by market capitalisation, closed 14.84 per cent up, at 2.94 dirhams (80 US cents), after heavy trading and wide fluctuations. Like Emaar, several leading shares also surged close to the maximum daily gain of 15 per cent, including Dubai Islamic Bank, which rose by 14.53 per cent.

Saudi oil chief says Gulf economy ‘strong’

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s oil minister told a Dubai conference Wednesday that Gulf economies remain strong, even as the emirate’s stock market spiralled downwards over debt default fears.

‘I want to emphasise that the overall economy of the Gulf region as a whole remains strong,’ Ali al-Naimi told the fourth Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association Forum.

‘One of the fundamentals of our region’s economic strength is the industry convened here for this forum — petrochemicals and chemicals,’ he added.

Dubai debt concerns spread beyond Dubai World

Thursday, December 10, 2009
DUBAI: Fears that Dubai’s debt problems are not limited to troubled state conglomerate Dubai World battered investor confidence in the world’s top oil-exporting region and sent Gulf shares tumbling on Wednesday.

Investors have been left in the dark since the Gulf business hub announced on Nov 25 that it sought to delay payment on Dubai World debt while it overhauls the sprawling state firm, which builds and operates everything from ports to luxury flats.

Nakheel makes $3.65bn H1 loss

Wednesday, December 09, 2009
DUBAI: Troubled Dubai property developer Nakheel made a first half loss of 13.4 billion dirhams ($3.65 billion) as revenues fell and it wrote down the value of land and property, according to a report published on Tuesday.Nakheel, whose parent company Dubai World has requested a six-month standstill on Nakheel’s $3.52 billion Islamic bond maturing next week, had made a profit of 2.65 billion dirhams in the year earlier period, Bloomberg News reported. Revenue fell 78 per cent to 1.97 billion dirhams, the news organisation reported, citing first half financial statements. Nakheel and Dubai World officials declined comment.

Dubai’s debt travails

Dubai is in trouble. The pearl of the Persian Gulf whose fame and fortune washed distant shores is suddenly losing its lustre. Dubai World, a major investment company in Dubai and the jewel in the city-state’s crown, has run up an astounding $60bn debt.
 
The conglomerate is unable to meet its scheduled debt repayments and has sought a suspension. So much for its boast that ‘the sun never sets on Dubai World’. Dubai World claims to be one of the largest holding companies in the world, with its investment portfolio spreading across 100 cities and encompassing industries and sectors ranging from ports management, property development, hospitality and tourism, free -zone operations and private equity investment.

Emaar shares plunge as UAE markets take fresh tumble

Tuesday, December 08, 2009
DUBAI: Shares in Dubai’s giant property developer Emaar dropped the maximum-allowed 10 per cent on Monday as stocks in the United Arab Emirates took a fresh tumble over Dubai’s debt woes.

The Dubai exchange slumped 5.84 per cent and Abu Dhabi’s market dropped 1.68 per cent, after both on Sunday had recovered some of the heavy losses they sustained last week. Emaar, developer of the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai, led the downward charge on the Dubai Financial Market.