When the moon landed on the Burj

HH Sheikh Mohammad's greeting to the Muslim World

Property Demand rising in regional financial, transport and logistics hub Dubai

After three years of house price falls, Dubai’s housing market is now recovering fast, while its neighboring Abu Dhabi, UAE's capital, is still struggling.

In Dubai, widely viewed as a regional financial and transport and logistics hub, the all-residential property price index (RPPI) surged by a record 18.89% (18.26% in real terms) during the year to November 2012, according to Reidin.com.

• Apartment sales prices in Dubai increased 11.6% y-o-y to November 2012.
• Villa sales prices soared by 23.7% over the same period.

Dubai will leapfrog New York in the number of international visitors by 2016 and surpass Paris a year later, according to MasterCard.

Bangkok topped the financial service organisation's Global Destination Cities Index, followed by London, Paris, Singapore and New York.

Istanbul, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Barcelona round out the top 10.

The number of visitors to Dubai, which climbed one place from last year's list, is expected to grow 10.9 per cent this year to 9.89 million people. That would rank it alongside Istanbul and Bangkok for the strongest growth in passenger arrivals.

The Middle East ranked highly among markets expanding the fastest in air connectivity, with Istanbul in first place, Dubai in second and Abu Dhabi in 12th.

Demand is rising strongly in Dubai. Property transactions in the emirate rose by 21% to AED63 billion (US$17.15 billion) in the first half of 2012 from H2 2011, based on figures from the Dubai Land Department. Foreign property transactions rose by 36% to AED28.3 billion (US$7.7 billion) in H1 2012 from the same period last year.

In the third quarter of 2012, Dubai’s total residential stock was about 349,000 while the total residential stock in Abu Dhabi was around 202,000, according to Jones Lang LaSalle MENA. From end-2012 to 2014, about 37,000 new housing units are expected to enter the Abu Dhabi market and around 50,000 new housing units are projected to enter the Dubai market.

Rentals also reflect the strength of Dubai’s market and the relative weakness of Abu Dhabi. During the year to end-November 2012, housing rents in Dubai rose by 7.2% while they dropped by 6.2% in Abu Dhabi, according to Reidin.com.

To prevent speculations and another property bubble from emerging, the central bank recently issued circulars to banks cutting the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for Emiratis from 80% to 70% for the first property and 60% for the second unit. In addition, the LTV ratio was further cut for expatriates to 50% for the first unit and 40% for the second unit. The new rules are expected to be enforced at the start of 2013.

In 2013, demand is likely to remain suppressed in Abu Dhabi, while property prices and rents in Dubai are expected to continue rising, according to Jones Lang LaSalle MENA.

Property prices and residential rents will continue to rise in Dubai for the next three years on increasing demand and short supply, said Damac Group founder and chairman Hussain Sajwani.

The future of the property market in the emirate is very good on strong fundamentals, Sajwani said during a seminar organised by Doha Bank in Dubai recently.

“We expect the rent will keep going up in 2014, 2015 or maybe in 2016. So we have a good three years where the demand is there and supply is not,” he said.

The chairman explained that the newly-announced projects will take at least three years to come to the market. During that period, demand will continue to rise that will result in increasing rents and prices. He added that the global financial crisis crashed property prices by almost 50 per cent in Dubai.

“The crisis was very steep, severe and painful,” he said. “Naturally, from 2009 to 2011 nobody wanted to build and very few units came to the market that created a big gap in supply and demand. Rent has gone up a lot in the past 12 months,” he added.

The UAE’s property and projects market is benefiting from a growth in tourism, hospitality and trade particularly, as Dubai and Abu Dhabi are key business hubs in the region, Sajwani said.

He said the second thing that helps Dubai is that the emirate is surrounded by huge economies with problems and issues, he said. People in these countries have money and they want to park it in a safe haven, which is Dubai. Giving Saudi Arabia as an example, the Arab Spring countries, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and the CIS, Sajwani said that they are coming here for different reasons. Some of them running away from cold weather, taxes, political instability or other reasons.

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© Khaleej Times, Global Property Guide, The National

DUBAI -- Splendid City

EXPO 2020 bid by UAE and Dubai's boom

Five theme parks are planned for Jebel Ali, the area closest to the proposed Expo 2020 site. 

The General Assembly of the BIE (or Bureau International des Expositions), a multinational group with representatives from 163 countries that meets in Paris to oversee the selection of the Expo host nations. It will meet in June 2013 to consider the mission reports from each of the competing countries - the UAE, Thailand, Brazil, Russia and Turkey.

Tangible effects are difficult to measure, but an independent study for the Dutch pavilion at Expo 2000 estimated that the pavilion (which cost around €35 million) generated around €350 million of potential revenues for the Dutch economy. It also identified several key success factors for world-exposition pavilions in general.

Expo 2020 will likely represent a first no matter which city wins. If Ayutthaya wins the bid, it would be Thailand's first world's fair. If Dubai or Izmir win, it will be the first Middle Eastern expo. Expo 2020 will be the first Russian world's fair if Ekaterinburg wins. A Sao Paulo victory would make it the first world's fair in South America and Latin America as well as the first in the Western Hemisphere in 34 years and the first in the Southern Hemisphere in 32 years.

Every five years and for a period of six months, World Expos attract millions of visitors. The World Expo has never been held in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia in the history of the event.

 

If all five contenders receive a yes in June, the voting will proceed in four rounds. The country with the lowest number of votes will be knocked out in round one. All member states will then vote for one of the remaining four, then again for one of the remaining three until there are only two nations left to choose from.
The factors influencing the vote at this stage, according to Vicente Loscertales, the BIE secretary general, could include the power of the expo theme, the investment potential, the effect on the country and the region.

The UAE is bidding to host the World Expo 2020 in Dubai under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

Seven years from now, if the UAE wins its bid to host Expo 2020, 25 million visitors will arrive to find sweeping changes along its coast and motorways.

In a video message on the bid committee's website, the technology mogul and philanthropist, Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates heaped praise on the emirate and UAE.

"Dubai, as part of the UAE, has modernised itself, taken on tough projects, brought people together in a number of amazing ways and I think they would be a great location for a world expo," Mr Gates says.

The dramatic structures are set to dominate the 2020 skyline - all backed by strong infrastructure in the form of the planned Etihad Rail network, Al Sufouh Tram and new Dubai Metro links. And that, experts say, is the foundation of a successful Expo 2020 bid.

Work on one the nation's biggest infrastructure undertakings, the Dh40 billion Etihad Rail project, has already begun and is scheduled for completion two years before Expo 2020.

The 1,200-kilometre rail network will not only link the hamlets, cities and industrial centres of the UAE, but will also form part of a rail corridor connecting Saudi Arabia in the west and Oman in the east with freight, and eventually passenger trains.

By next year, the Dh3.2bn Al Sufouh tram project - a 13-stop route linking to the Metro - is expected to be finished. And the area surrounding the Dubai Creek in Bur Dubai will be opened to foot traffic with a new bridge.

By as early as April, work will begin on the Dh1bn Dubai Eye - a 210-metre high Ferris wheel on an island suburb jutting out of Dubai Marina.

In what might be one of Dubai's most daring projects to date, a 2.8km extension of Business Bay Canal will travel over Sheikh Zayed Road and the Dubai Metro, down into Safa Park, through Jumeirah and out into the Arabian Gulf.

The engineering marvel will make use of a boat elevator, inspired by Scotland's Falkirk Wheel, to safely lift boats on to and down from an elevated waterway. The Dh1.5bn canal project also includes cycling and pedestrian tracks along its banks.

Five theme parks are planned for Jebel Ali, the area closest to the proposed Expo 2020 site.

Dubai Marina at night

REASON TO INVEST IN DUBAI

With a state-of-the-art infrastructure and a amazing business environment for small, medium and large multinationals, Dubai is a leading commercial centre. The city is the perfectly based for multinational companies targeting markets in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Asian Subcontinent and the Eastern Mediterranean, with access to an export market of over 2 billion. Among the key characteristics of Dubai as a market are:

Ski Dubai in pictures

Ski Dubai in Dubai Emirates Mall started in December 2005 is the worlds third largest indoor ski slope, measuring 400 meters and using 6000 tons of snow. Dubai skiing resort is the first Dubai indoor ski slope to open. Ski Dubai has 5 runs that vary in difficulty, height and gradient, the longest run being 400 meters with a fall of over 60 meters.

Find complete price list from:

https://www.theplaymania.com/skidubai/pricing

You can find more details on its official website: https://www.theplaymania.com/skidubai

Dubai was sparkling in the eve of new year 2013

Whether its Burj Khalifa or Atlantis or Dubai Mall, you will find everywhere the celebrations of new year. Residence of Dubai truly enjoyed with full zeal.