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Deyaar postpones distressed fund
Dubai-based developer Deyaar has delayed a Dhs500m ($136.1m) distressed property fund after international investors withdrew Dhs200m previously committed, the National has reported. The company launched the fund last summer to buy distressed properties from its own portfolio as well as other properties, as it looked to boost returns for shareholders. 'It is the wrong time for Deyaar to go out and try to raise the funds from the international community,' the firm's Chief Executive Markus Giebel told the daily.
Al Mazaya sells Saudi property
Kuwait-based developer Al Mazaya Holding it has earned SR23.1m in profit from the sale of a property in Saudi Arabia, Reuters has reported. The profit from the SR104.6m sale will be added to the firm's first-quarter results, the developer said.
Egypt's Orascom eyes project in Iraq
Egypt's Orascom Housing Communities, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Orascom Development Holding, is in talks with the Iraqi government to buy land for a budget housing project, al-Mal newspaper has reported. The company is looking at two plots, one in Taji in central Iraq and the other in Basra in the south, and is waiting for the Iraqi government to state their price before choosing between them. Each is 9 million square metres, according to the daily.
Mubadala seeks $1.2bn Sowwah Square financing
Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co plans to approach banks for a $1.2bn project finance loan to fund the development of the Sowwah Square project on the capital's Sowwah Island, Meed has reported. Once developed, the island will contain the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange headquarters, several office towers and two five-star hotels.
Burj Khalifa closes observation deck temporarily
The Burj Khalifa observation deck has been temporarily closed for maintenance work, Gulf News has reported. 'Due to unexpected high traffic, the observation deck experience at the Burj Khalifa, At the Top, has been temporarily closed for maintenance and upgrade,' a spokesperson told the daily. 'Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and sub-contractors and the public will be informed upon completion.'
Dubai developers moot lettings model conversion
Mohammed Nimer, CEO of MAG Property Development has said that due to the current market conditions, some developers might want to convert their newer developments into furnished apartments for short, medium or long-term tenancies, Emirates Business has reported. "This will provide immediate revenue generation for them instead of leaving their buildings without tenants. Furnished apartments have a high rental value due to the higher investment value," he said.
Better Homes opens office in Saudi Arabia
Dubai-headquartered real estate agency, Better Homes has launched its operations in Saudi Arabia with the opening of a new office in Jeddah. The agency has already established several franchise offices in Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Oman and India, and is set for further expanding its operations across a broader geographical area.
Tadawul awards Nikken SR1bn tower contract
The Saudi Stock Exchange Co. (Tadawul) has awarded Japanese firm Nikken a contract worth nearly SR1bn to design and execute the project of its new tower, the Saudi press agency has reported. The new project will be built within King Abdullah Financial Centre in Riyadh and will be completed within 43 months.
Al Attar Properties investors served legal notices
Bipin Tavarool, Projects Manager and Head of Projects & Finance at Al Attar Properties has said that investors in the company's The Skyscraper commercial tower have been served legal notices seeking payments to continue with construction, Emirates Business has reported. "Only five to 10 clients have paid... we have an outstanding of about Dhs68m on the project," Tavarool told the newspaper. "Clients need to pay. We were not collecting any money from clients on any of our projects for the past 18 months... now we are starting and so they should pay," he added.
Drake and Scull wins $51m contract
Dubai-based construction firm Drake & Scull International has won a Dhs187m ($51m) order for works in a hotel in Abu Dhabi. 'This is the third project DSI PJSC has won in the first quarter of 2010, bringing the total value of projects won in the same period to Dhs369m,' the company said.
Dubai rents expected to drop further
A new report predicts that commercial and residential property rents in Dubai will continue to decline this year due to oversupply and rising vacancy rates. 'The real estate market remained sluggish during the final quarter of 2009 with few signs to suggest any imminent upturn in fortunes,' property consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis said in its Dubai MarketView for the fourth quarter of 2009. Lease rates for commercial space in newer areas of Dubai, which have already dropped 50%, are expected to head lower 'as competition for tenants continues to lead landlords towards greater incentive packages', the report said. Residential units are also likely to see 'a further small contraction during the course of the next year as a substantial volume of new residential accommodation reaches the final stages of construction', it said.
Talaat Moustafa plans Saudi project
Jihad Sawaftah, finance director of Egypt's biggest developer by market value, Talaat Moustafa Group, has said the firm plans to launch its first project in Saudi Arabia within three months to target the country's young, wealthy buyers, Reuters has reported. 'We are focusing on Saudi Arabia,' he told the news service. 'The land is there, the demand is there. And, don't forget, that is where the money is.' The company wants 40% of its real estate sales to come from Saudi Arabia by 2014, and is shifting into the hotel business to diversify away from Egyptian home sales, Sawaftah added.
Nakheel says World Islands not sinking
Dubai-based developer Nakheel has dismissed a media report that its 300 man-made islands shaped like a map of the world are sinking, Reuters has reported. Britain's Daily Mail's website said that a picture from the US space agency NASA suggested that the islands were merging together and appeared to be sinking. 'Speculative reports suggesting that The World islands are sinking are wholly inaccurate,' the developer said in a statement. The load-bearing capacity of The World islands' reclaimed land mass is about twice that of mainland Dubai, Nakheel noted.
Tiger Woods' Dubai project to be completed
The Tiger Woods Dubai golf course and luxury-home complex, which has been delayed by the emirate's property slump, will be completed as planned, Bloomberg has reported. 'We haven't decided yet on a date for its completion or delivery to the market, but the project is ongoing,' Dubai Properties Group Chief Executive Officer Khalid Al Malik told the news service. Work on the course, designed by Woods and originally due to be finished by September 2009, has gotten as far as the eighth hole, he said. Plans for the 55 million-square-foot Tiger Woods Dubai include 287 luxury villas and mansions, a boutique hotel and a clubhouse. 'Part of the project is sold and the other part will go to the market once it's completed because we believe it's better to do it then,' Al Malik said. 'We are moving on with that plan and we are continuing the project without a doubt.'
Arabtec wins $193m contract
Dubai-based Arabtec Holding said it has been awarded a Dhs710m ($193m) building contract by Abu Dhabi-based Tasameem Real Estate Co, Bloomberg has reported. The contract is for building Tasameem's 'P17 Tower' on Sheikh Zayed Road, the construction firm said.
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