RAK Properties appoints Sameh Al Muhtadi as chief executive

He has previously worked with real estate companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt

RAK Properties is developing the Dh10 billion Mina Al Arab master development off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah. Photo: RAK Properties.

UAE real estate developer RAK Properties has appointed Sameh Al Muhtadi as its new chief executive, the company said on Wednesday.

Mr Al Muhtadi, who has previously worked with real estate companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the US, joined the company on August 22 after completing the required contractual process, RAK Properties said in a brief statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

He was the chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s Bloom Holding from 2014 to 2019 and most recently the president of Al Futtaim Contracting in Dubai, according to his LinkedIn page.

Mr Al Muhtadi was also the chief executive of Emaar in Cairo from 2007 to 2010.

The new appointment comes as the UAE’s property market rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic with property transaction numbers increasing across the country.

Pent-up demand and improved investor sentiment as well as new initiatives, such as visas for retirees and the expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme, have helped to drive property sales up.

Abu Dhabi recorded 7,474 property transactions worth more than Dh22.51 billion ($6.12bn) in the first six months of the year, data released by the emirate's Department of Municipalities and Transport last month showed.

Dubai, meanwhile, registered 25,972 property transactions in the first quarter of this year, the highest number of quarterly deals since 2010, according to Mo’asher, the emirate’s official sales price index issued by the Dubai Land Department in partnership with Property Finder.

The Dubai market also hit a 12-year high for the month of July in terms of the number of sales, a report by Property Finder showed.

RAK Properties is developing the Dh10bn Mina Al Arab master development off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah as well as other projects in the emirate.

The company reported a loss of Dh4.9 million in the second quarter of this year compared with a profit of Dh55.6m during the same period last year, as a result of lower revenue, its financial statement showed.