Emaar EC inks deal with Jurong on Saudi project
Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar EC), the Saudi unit of UAE-based developer Emaar which is developing King Abdullah Economic City, has announced the signing of an agreement with Singapore's Jurong International to develop the second phase of the Industrial Valley within KAEC. According to the agreement, Jurong International will undertake the master planning and infra engineering of the 2 million square metres located for Phase 2 of the Industrial Valley project, one of the six components of KAEC that sprawls over an area of 63 million sq m with 4,400 net hectares of land. More »
Barwa submits offer to buy shares of Alaqaria
Qatar-based developer, Barwa Real Estate Co, has said it has submitted its official offer to acquire Doha-based Qatar Real Estate Investment Co (Alaqaria). Shareholders of the two companies will be given the opportunity to vote on the proposed transaction when they hold separate meetings in Doha on March 30. Qatari Diar, the largest shareholder in both companies, would maintain a 45% share in the enlarged Barwa company through a contribution of land in the Lusail area, set to become an education and medical district. More »
World's second tallest building to open in Saudi
The world's second tallest building will be opened next August in Saudi Arabia, Meed has reported. The 577-metre Makkah Clock Royal Tower will be 59 metres taller than the 508-metre tall Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, but 251 metres shorter than the Dubai's 828-metre tall Burj Khalifa. Makkah Clock Royal Tower is part of the 4.5 million-square-metre, seven-building Abraaj al-Bayt complex, owned by Riyadh's Kingdom Holding Co. Kingdom is planning to build an even taller tower as part of its Jeddah Kingdom City development. More »
Bahrain tower project put on hold
The $185m Al-Seef tower development in Bahrain has been suspended indefinitely by the local Ithmaar Development Co after it has not been able to obtain required government approval for the project in the Al-Seef district, Meed has reported, citing a source close to the project. The developer has been in discussions about moving the project to another location in Manama in order to allow the development to go ahead. However, no agreement has been reached yet. More »
Alaqaria posts 10% income rise
Qatari developer, Alaqaria has reported a 10% rise in total income for 2009 to QR528m compared with the QR478m during 2008, the Peninsula has reported. The developer attributed the increase to a 63% increase in rental and finance lease income, which reached QR447m, up from QR274m in 2008. Net income for the full year was QR214m, compared with QR311m in 2008. The decline was mainly attributable to a decrease in investment income and an increase in finance cost, the firm said. More »
Nakheel begins handover of final Marina Residences tower
Nakheel has said that handover of the sixth and final tower of Marina Residences in Palm Jumeirah has commenced, with residents likely to move in within the next few weeks. The waterfront development features six residential towers containing a mix of apartments and penthouses. "We have been working closely with contractors Shimizu Corporation during the past few years to deliver this development on The Palm," said Marwan Al Qamzi, Group Managing Director, Nakheel Development Projects. More »
KEO wins Qatar Lusail development deal
Kuwaiti firm KEO International Consultants has been appointed by property developer Diyar al-Kuwait to design and manage the construction work on an $800m mixed-use development at Lusail in Qatar, Meed has reported. KEO will be working on a part of the project that includes 160,000 square metres of commercial space, 130,000 sq m of office space and 30,000 sq m for retail. A residential area covers a further 87,000 sq m and comprises 640 apartments as well as 27, four-bedroom townhouses. Two basement car parks will provide 4,070 spaces for residents and visitors. More »
Arabtec reports Q4 loss
UAE-based Arabtec Holding has reported its first quarterly loss as a publicly traded company due to higher costs and nonpayment by customers, Bloomberg has reported. The fourth-quarter net loss was Dhs16.8m ($4.6m), according to Bloomerg calculations. The company, which first sold shares in January 2005, reported year-earlier profit of Dhs197.9m. More »
Saudis to spend $640bn on 5m new homes
According to a new strategic plan unveiled by Jeddah Municipality, the kingdom's property sector will need around $640bn in investments over the next 20 years to build five million new low-cost housing units, Khaleej Times has reported. To cope with the increasing number of expatriates and an influx of nationals from rural areas, the plan estimates Jeddah alone to need almost a million housing units over the 20-year period. The total investment in the kingdom's real estate sector is expected to exceed $400bn in 2010. More »
Abu Dhabi Finance cuts mortgage rates
Ali Eid al Mehairi, chairman of Abu Dhabi Finance, a mortgage provider part-owned by the government, has said the firm has received financial support from the Department of Finance aimed at reducing its rates to the lowest in the country, The National has reported. The unspecified amount, which was obtained at 'commercial terms', will enable ADF to lower the cost of borrowing for home buyers to as low as 5.75%, compared to the lowest rate in the market today of 6.5%. ADF is considering future expansions into other types of finance, such as lending to property developers, he said. More »
Egypt's Palm Hills Q4 profit rises 63%
Egypt-based Palm Hills Developments has reported a 63% rise in fourth-quarter profit to EGP185.1m ($33.8m) from EGP113.5m in the same period a year earlier, Bloomberg has reported. Revenue rose to EGP470.8m from EGP139.5m in the last quarter of 2008, while full-year sales, however, fell 7% to EGP1.14bn 'despite a very challenging first half', the company said. More »
DSI wins two contracts in Kuwait
Drake & Scull International for Electrical Contracting - Kuwait has said it has won two contracts worth over Dhs90m within the education sector in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The contract wins are the first for DSK since being acquired by Drake & Scull International (DSI) in December last year. More »
Saudi developer to raise $272m in IPO
The Saudi Capital Market Authority has said that property developer Knowledge Economic City plans to raise SR1.02bn ($272m) in an initial public offering in May, Reuters has reported. The developer will offer 102 million shares at SR10 riyals each over the May 24-30 period, CMA said in a statement. More »
Due diligence extended in Arabtec, Aabar merger
Dubai-based Arabtec, the UAE's largest contractor, has extended the due diligence date for its $1.7bn merger with Aabar Investments to April 16, in a move that will encourage investors that the deal will progress, the company said. 'Because of the enormity of the task at hand and the limited time frame, both parties agreed to amend the subscription agreement and the term sheet to extend the due diligence date to midnight April 16 2010,' the company said in a statement on the bourse website. Under the agreement, Abu Dhabi's Aabar in January had agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Arabtec in a deal valued at about $1.7bn, according to Reuters. More »
Two new property companies established in Saudi
Two new real estate companies have been set up in Saudi Arabia after obtaining necessary approval from the kingdom's commerce and industry ministry. The first company is the Jeddah-based United Bunyan for Real Estate, which has registered a capital of SR475m, while the second is the Riyadh-based Wissam Hussein Al-Jafri Real Estate Co, with a capital of SR150m. More »
Egypt's Talaat Moustafa's Q4 profit up 59%
Egypt's biggest developer by market value, Talaat Moustafa Group, has posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results after new sales outpaced cancellations in 2009, Reuters has reported. The developer's Q4 net profit rose by 59% to EGP167m ($30.4m) from EGP105m, while revenue rose to EGP467m from EGP382m. More »
First developer breaks ground on The World
Dubai-based Kleindienst Group has officially broken ground on Germany Island, becoming the first developer to start construction on The World islands in Dubai. 'While we are the first developer to begin construction, we are aware of several more that are not far behind us. The World project is very real, it is taking shape as we speak and I firmly believe that when complete it will become the most expensive property in the emirate of Dubai,' chief executive Josef Kleindienst said. Since The Heart of Europe launched in December 2009, Kleindienst Group has sold 11 villas on Germany Island. More »
Galfar Engineering wins two contracts in Oman
Oman-based Galfar Engineering & Contracting has said it has won two contracts with a combined value of OR50.5m ($131m), Bloomberg has reported. The first is a OR40.5m contract from the ministry of transport and communications for works at the Ras Al Hadd Airport, while the second is a OR10m from the ministry of health to build an accident and emergency department at Khoula Hospital. More »
Burj Khalifa set to welcome residents
Emaar Properties has said the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, will start receiving home-owners of Armani Residences, located on levels 9 to 16 of the tower, next month. The hand-over of the Residences, which comprise 900 apartments, and The Corporate Suites, a collection of high-end offices, can take anywhere from two to six months, the developer said. This will be followed by the opening of the Armani Hotel Dubai, which occupies the concourse to Level 8 and Levels 38 and 39. More »
Piling works begin on Louvre Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Co (TDIC) has awarded German construction firm, Bauer International FZE a contract for the piling works of the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum on Saadiyat Island. The piling works contract constitutes the second sequential package to be issued for the Louvre Abu Dhabi since its groundbreaking in May last year. Following the completion of the piling, a sub-structure contractor will be appointed to construct the concrete and waterproofing works up to ground level. More »
Pioneers Holding to boost stake in Egyptian developer
Egypt-based financial services firm Pioneers Holding has said it has decided to raise its stake in Egyptian developer El Kahera Housing to 25%, Reuters has reported. More »
Housing to boost Saudi inflation in Q1
Housing will help keep Saudi Arabia's inflation rising during the first quarter, but it will remain below 1.5%, the kingdom's central bank said in a report. Most of the inflationary pressures in the kingdom come from the renovation, home rent and fuel group, the report said. The home rents index rose 14.2% in 2009 up from an average 5.3% per year over the previous five years More »
Mazaya Qatar releases IPO subscription results
After completing a $137.4m initial public offering last month, Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Development said companies own 67.5% of its shares and individual investors have a 32.5% stake. '100% of the subscribed shares will be allocated to these subscribers as no oversubscription was reported and no refund will be made,' the developer said in a statement. More »
Drake and Scull to spend $136m in regional buys
Drake and Scull International has said the contracting firm plans to spend $136.1m on acquisitions this year, which includes three firms in the region, Reuters has reported. "We are hoping to have the Qatar acquisition in the first quarter, one in Saudi Arabia in the second quarter and the second in the third quarter," Zeina Tabari, the firm's chief corporate affairs officer told the news service. The Qatar acquisition will be a MEP business while the two in Saudi Arabia will be an MEP and a civil construction firm, she added. More »
Thailand to extradite Briton to Dubai
A court in Thailand has agreed to extradite a Briton to face embezzlement charges in Dubai. Prosecutors in the UAE issued an arrest warrant in 2008 for Michael Bryan Smith, 43, on charges of siphoning about $150m from Limitless, the real-estate unit of Dubai World. Thailand, which arrested him last May, will extradite him in 30 days, the Bangkok Criminal Court said in a statement today. More »