Dubai Investment News
Dubai International Airport sets another new record
Dubai International Airport accommodated a record 5.8 million passengers in March, new figures have confirmed.The international aviation hub continues to grow at an incredible rate, with traffic rising by an impressive 20.6 per cent during the month when compared to the corresponding period in 2012.This was the biggest percentage increase since August 2012 and was also the fourth consecutive month where the five million passengers threshold was surpassed.Dubai has quickly become one of the most popular holiday destinations on the planet and it attracts more than its fair share of businesspeople too.The strong performance in March meant that year-to-date traffic soared to 16.48 million – up by 15.6 per cent on the first quarter of 2012.Western Europe proved to be an important market for the UAE city in March, with an extra 227,830 people taking advantage of new routes put on by Emirates and flydubai. Visitor numbers from eastern Europe also increased considerably, as Emirates launched new services to Poland and flydubai introduced a regular flight to Macedonia. The airport recorded a total of 31,713 aircraft movements in March – which was up by 8.3 per cent on the same month in 2012 – and highlights why Dubai International has quickly become the second-busiest aviation facility on the planet.Chief executive officer of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths said the first quarter was “very successful”.”I am particularly pleased that we are now not only the world's second busiest international hub but also one of the most efficient with 208 passengers per aircraft movement thanks to our growing number of A380 operations which led the world in 2012 with 7,259 A380 flights to 28 destinations,” he remarked.The airport has already been extended this year and is currently capable of handling 75 million people a year, which is crucial as experts predict that up to 66 million visitors will land in this part of the Gulf by the end of 2013. Continue reading
UAE tops M&As in Mena
The UAE topped the region in terms of total value of disclosed domestic merger and acquisition deals, comprising approximately 54 per cent worth $2.2bn; followed by Qatar also at 21 per cent worth $880.4m. In the domestic space, the UAE also led the number of announced acquisitions with 11 deals. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait followed with seven acquisitions each, according to Ernst & Young’s MENA Mergers & Acquisitions update. The total value of disclosed mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region rose from $7.3bn in Q1 2012 to $14.6bn in Q1 2013, increasing by 100 per cent. In Q1 2013, 98 deals were announced against 101 deals in the last year, a decline of 3 per cent. Phil Gandier, Mena Head of Transaction Advisory Services at Ernst & Young Mena, said: “This increase can be attributed to growing investor confidence, improvement in the access to credit, relatively better convergence in pricing between investors and sellers and a hint of improved macro economic conditions. This is especially true of the markets and the sectors that saw the most deal activity – a trend that we expect to continue.” The top 10 deals in Q1 2013 were valued at $12.1bn which represented 83 per cent of the total disclosed Mena M&A deal value. Of these, five are outbound (regional business buying international assets), three are domestic (regional business buying regional assets) and two are inbound (international business buying regional assets). The top deal by value was worth $6.4bn, involving the acquisition of Orascom Telecom Holding in Egypt by Baskindale Limited in Cyprus followed by the merger of UAE based Sorouh Real Estate and Aldar Properties for $2bn. These two deals comprised 69 per cent of the top ten disclosed Mena M&A deals by value. In Mena, attractive sectors were banking & capital markets, and professional firms & services which led deal activity with eight deals each, followed by oil & gas with seven deals, consumer products with six deals and real estate and telecom with four deals each. The sector with the largest disclosed deal value was telecom, representing $7bn. For outbound announced deal activity, attractive sectors were telecommunications with five deals followed by real estate with four deals. Continue reading
Dubai property deals rise 63%
Real estate transactions touched Dh44bn in Q1. The total value of real estate transactions in Dubai rose 63 per cent to Dh44 billion in first quarter 2013 compared to same period last year, data from Dubai Land Department (DLD) reveals. The number of transactions amounted to 14,260 at a rate of 223 per day and 32 per hour with “impressive” growth registered in the residential and commercial sector. Total sales transactions reached 10,913 valued at Dh24 billion, with mortgage amounted to Dh17.8 billion. Other transactions amounted to Dh2.2 billion. Dubai Marina took the lead in terms of value of transactions, registering 2,079 transaction worth Dh3.5 billion as total value of residential transactions touching Dh13.9 billion. In 2012, total value of real estate transactions rose 8 per cent to Dh154 billion compared to Dh143 billion in 2011. UAE nationals had topped the list of investors in 2012 while Indians coming second in the list of top property buyers. Total investments by Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab and foreign investors stood at Dh58.6 billion with the total number of investors reaching 18,635, while foreign investors, numbering 13,573, invested Dh36 billion in the market. Sultan bin Mijrin, Director-General, DLD, said: “Dubai real estate market has shown durability and flexibility when it comes dealing with the requirements of investors, with the past three months showing a new breed of investors entering the market in order to capitalize on opportunities that have risen on the even of price correction witnessed in the market over the past two years.” He added: “As the market continues to unfold, investors will be encouraged to increase their spending in Dubai.” Jones Lang LaSalle, a global property consultancy, in its first quarter 2013 report, said Dubai property sales prices were about 18 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the year earlier period. Recently, Deutsche Bank said real estate prices and rents in Dubai rose for the 16th consecutive month in March, continuing the steady recovery in the sector. Property prices increased by 1.5 per cent from February to March with price increases recorded across most areas, with prices and rental values remaining significantly below their peak of 2008. Continue reading
