Morning round-up: High rents still cause trouble

Rent plays a big part in the establishment of a company, as Tala al Ramahi reports in The National. Some 30 business proposals that were approved by the Government "

have not yet materialised as the owners struggle to find somewhere suitable within their budgets in Abu Dhabi

", she writes. This is a problem for foreign companies trying to set up here as well.

Photo caption: Abu Dhabi, 15th April. 2009. Entrepreneur Hamad Abdulla says he has been searching for a place to set up an office for his children event management company for almost a year, but "even the chepaest options are so expensive", he says. Stephen Lock / The National

Meanwhile, falling rents in Dubai

is likely to lead to some major population shifts

, as Anjana Kumar reports in Emirates Business 24/7. It turns out, people are moving from Sharjah to International City and Discovery Gardens -- and residents of those neighborhoods are moving to the Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residences. In Abu Dhabi, people are moving into newer apartment buildings from the older ones.

Gurjit Singh, the chief property development officer of Sorouh Real Estate, writes in the comment pages of The National today that the proliferation of largescale master developments - like the ones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai - are part of a global trend. We profiled him last Friday.

Financial crimes are on the rise, including - I'm sure - many people in the property sector. Col. Khalil Ebrahim al Mansouri, head of Dubai Police CID, tells Xpress that these crimes have risen 100 per cent in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period last year. Among the highlights: 574 expatriates and Emiratis were arrested for charges like bounced checks or failure to repay loans.

Mayadeen is planning to award a Dh130m contract for two automated car parks on Shams Abu Dhabi on Reem Island in the next two months, according to Emirates 24/7 Business.