Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s largest listed developer, hit the Dh1 billion ($270 million) mark for sales at its Sustainable City project on Yas Island.
A total of 512 homes were available during the first phase of the development, with 76 per cent of the units purchased by expatriates, the company said in a statement on Sunday.
“The success we have seen … is an endorsement of the government’s forward-thinking policies, and is a clear indication that buyers are looking for more sustainable ways of living,” Jonathan Emery, chief executive at Aldar Development, said.
The project, being carried out in partnership with Dubai-based Diamond Developers, “provides further impetus for us to deliver more developments of this type across the region”, Mr Emery said.
The construction of the project will commence in the second quarter of this year and the first handovers will be in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Earlier this month, Aldar unveiled a comprehensive strategy to decarbonise its business as it aims to become a carbon-neutral company by the middle of the century in line with the UAE’s net-zero 2050 initiative.
Aldar has also set “science-aligned 2030 interim targets” that will help it achieve net zero in its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.
The developer also aims to achieve a 45 per cent reduction in its Scope 3 emissions by the end of this decade, from the company’s 2021 baseline levels.
Aldar plans to launch a dozen new projects this year amid the UAE’s property market recovery and will continue to look for acquisitions to boost its portfolio, Mr Emery told The National in an interview on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
The developer will start one new project in Ras Al Khaimah and the rest will be in Abu Dhabi, he said.
The UAE property market has continued to recover from the coronavirus pandemic on the back of government initiatives, higher oil prices and other measures to support the economy.
Aldar, which is looking to expand its portfolio of investments into the other emirates and beyond, last year made several acquisitions.
The developer partnered with Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company to acquire Al Maryah Tower in the UAEs capital, in a deal valued at Dh450 million.
It also agreed to buy four prime commercial towers from Mubadala at The Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial centre on the capital's Al Maryah Island, in a $1.17 billion deal.
In Ras Al Khaimah, it announced new deals including the acquisition of the DoubleTree Marjan Island and an adjacent beachfront development plot for Dh810 million.
It also bought the Rixos Bab Al Bahr hotel in Ras Al Khaimah in a Dh770 million deal and Al Hamra Mall for $111.6 million.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
RIVER%20SPIRIT
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeila%20Aboulela%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Saqi%20Books%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MWTC info
Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The winners
Fiction
- ‘Amreekiya’ by Lena Mahmoud
- ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid
The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award
- ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi; translated by Ramon J Stern
- ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres
The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award
- ‘Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah
Children/Young Adult
- ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
