Shares in ENBD Reit, the UAE’s second real estate investment trust, rose by 5.4 per cent during its first day of trading on Nasdaq Dubai yesterday as the company said it planned to focus more on investing in schools, health care and logistics, besides residential and commercial property.
Shayne Nelson, Emirates NBD’s group chief executive, and Tariq Bin Hendi, ENBD Reit’s director, jointly rang the bell at the Dubai Financial Market yesterday formally to announce ENBD Reit’s float on Nasdaq Dubai.
Shares in the company, which is managed by Emirates NBD Asset Management, the fund management arm of Dubai’s largest bank, closed at US$1.17 yesterday after listing at an offer price of US$1.11.
ENBD Reit raised $105 million through an initial public offering (IPO), which the company says it hopes to spend on income-producing property assets in Dubai and across the UAE.
“We’re very comfortable that we can deploy US$105m into the market in a short space of time into assets that are income producing and that will give us a good return for our investors,” said Anthony Taylor, the fund manager for real estate for Emirates NBD Asset Management. “We obviously have aspirations to be much larger than we are today. To grow to the size we want to be eventually we have to do it in stages.”
The company is targeting investment opportunities close to the new Dubai airport around Dubai South, and teaming up with tenants in Abu Dhabi on long-term leases.
ENBD Reit’s portfolio, which until recently has been operated as a Jersey open ended fund, comprises seven buildings; two thirds of it is in offices and one third in residential.
The company said it wanted its allocation in the future to be about 50 per cent offices, 20 to 30 per cent residential and 20 to 30 per cent what it called “alternative assets” comprising warehouses, clinics, hotels and schools let on long-term leases.
The news comes as more and more reits are expected to start trading in the UAE and across the Arabian Gulf. Saudi Arabia approved reit listing rules last year to bolster its housing market and currently has two listed. In Bahrain, the country’s first Sharia-compliant retail reit was listed in January on the local bourse.
Last month, the fund manager behind ENBD Reit’s main rival, Emirates Reit, announced it had teamed up with Al Hamra Real Estate Development and National Bonds to create the UAE’s first residential real estate trust, which is expected to float on one of the UAE markets at a later date. The fund manager is also looking to set up reits based around hotels, logistics and sporting assets.
“There is room in Dubai for 10 or 20 reits,” said Mr Taylor. “This is a very significant part of the investment horizon. We feel comfortable, being second, that many more will follow and it’s important to have an established market.”
Despite the listing, the volume of shares traded was thin, standing at just 2,000 from a total share issue of 94,594,595. By comparison, the number of shares traded in the UAE’s first reit, Emirates Reit, which is also traded on Nasdaq Dubai, stood at 50,000 yesterday.
Analysts said that the low volume traded was down to the fact that reits tend to be held by investors for longer-term holds than other types of equities.
“We probably would have expected a larger volume of trades on a stock’s first day of trading but in general we would expect reits in the region to trade with low volumes because these vehicles are attractive to the sort of people who are going to be buying real estate assets and tend not to be active trading investors,” said Saleem Khokhar, the head of fund management at NBAD. “Emirates Reit has been in existence for a while so it may have a larger client base but in general it is not a widely traded stock.”
Emirates Reit is Sharia-compliant and was floated on Nasdaq Dubai by the fund manager Equitativa in 2014.
“I think there is space for two reits in the Dubai market,” Mr Khokhar said. “The market for real estate is sought after and commercial real estate in the UAE is not easy to get hold of. However, the question may be whether it is a good time to invest in commercial real estate in Dubai.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Oppenheimer
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Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Scorebox
Dubai Sports City Eagles 7 Bahrain 88
Eagles
Try: Penalty
Bahrain
Tries: Gibson 2, Morete 2, Bishop 2, Bell 2, Behan, Fameitau, Sanson, Roberts, Bennett, Radley
Cons: Radley 4, Whittingham 5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The%20specs%20
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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
