Mall developer MAF to invest $816 mn in Dubai

Mall developer MAF to invest $816 mn in Dubai

 

[caption id="attachment_12050" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Majid al Futtaim, the developer of Dubai mall, is set to invest $816m to expand its business over the next five years. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Dubai mall developer Majid Al Futtaim said it will invest another 3 billion dirhams ($816.7 mn) over the next 5 years to expand its business in the emirate, after posting a 10 percent increase in its 2013 revenue.

 

Unlisted MAF, which holds the Carrefour franchise in the Middle East, said on Monday that revenue last year was $6.2 billion.

 

Its earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization (EBIDTA) from recurring operations grew by 12 percent year-on-year to reach $898m, the company said, without providing full-year net profit figure.

 

MAF has plans to invest over $816 million on extending its Dubai businesses over the next five years, which includes two new hotel developments, renovating two existing hotels and redeveloping its flagship Mall of the Emirates.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 27 Monday January 2014 The Roman)

 

Dubai’s Arabtec wins $6.1bn Aabar contract

Dubai’s Arabtec wins $6.1bn Aabar contract

 

[caption id="attachment_12045" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Arabtec said the deal was one of the largest ever in the region’s real estate sector and Arabtec’s biggest by value. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Dubai-based construction firm Arabtec said it would build 37 major buildings worth 22.44 billion dirhams ($6.1 billion) for Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in a fresh sign of the dramatic recovery of local estate markets.

 

Confirming a Reuters story on Saturday, Arabtec said the deal was one of the largest ever in the region’s real estate sector and Arabtec’s biggest by value.

 

In a bourse statement on Sunday, Arabtec also quoted Aabar Properties chairman Khadem Al Qubaisi as saying Aabar would in future assign all construction work in its $20 billion real estate portfolio around the world to Arabtec.

 

That portfolio includes projects in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Morocco, Jordan, Serbia and other countries.

 

Aabar, which also owns stakes in companies such as commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L) and Italian bank UniCredit (CRDI.MI), holds about 22 percent of Arabtec.

 

Arabtec said it would start work this year on the new buildings, which would be mixed-use, residential and hotel towers, and that all the projects would be completed by 2020.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 2 Sunday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Dubai financial center posts double-digit growth for 2013

Dubai financial center posts double-digit growth for 2013

 

[caption id="attachment_11778" align="alignnone" width="400"] (The Dubai International Financial Center said it grew at double-digit rates last year, due to attracting more tenants from Asia and emerging markets. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

The Dubai International Financial Center, the top banking hub in the Middle East, said it grew at double-digit rates last year as it attracted more tenants from Asia and other emerging markets.

 

The number of active registered companies operating within the DIFC rose 14 percent to 1,039, while their combined workforce expanded 11 percent to 15,600, it said on Tuesday.

 

Jeffrey Singer, chief executive of the DIFC Authority, which manages the financial free zone, said the DIFC would focus this year on developing new areas such as Islamic finance, family-owned businesses and commercial links with Africa.

 

Occupancy rates in core office buildings owned or managed by the DIFC are now close to 100 percent, so more office space is being made available in other buildings that could accommodate as many as 15,000 more workers, the DIFC said.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Jordan’s Arab Bank 2013 net profit up 43 percent

Jordan’s Arab Bank 2013 net profit up 43 percent

 

Jordan’s largest lender, Arab Bank Group, posted a 43 percent rise in 2013 net profit to $501.9 million on the back of higher revenues, with its chairman saying a conservative policy eased the impact of political upheaval across the region.

 

Chairman Sabih al-Masri said in a statement the bank, one of the Middle East’s major financial institutions, saw deposits increase by $1.5 billion to $34.4 billion against $32.9 billion at the end of 2012.

 

“This was in spite of the challenging environment in the region with the solid growth in operating income reflecting prudent and conservative policies the bank preserved and the strategy it pursued,” Masri said.

 

Arab Bank, which has a $45.6 billion balance sheet spread across 30 countries and five continents, has seen a slowdown in profit growth in recent years as it put aside provisions to cover non-performing loans by businesses reeling from the global downturn.

 

Bankers say the wave of political unrest across the region since 2011 would continue to affect the bank’s business in 2014, but a diversified portfolio would help reduce risks.

 

(Reuters, Amman, 25 Saturday January 2014 The Roman)

(Al Arabiya News, 25 Saturday January 2014 The Roman)