RAK Properties plans to launch four new residential projects and a hotel project in Ras Al Khaimah this year and aims to surpass last year’s profitability on the back of higher sales, its chief executive has said.
The value of the projects will be “in the billions of dirhams”, Sameh Al Muhtadi told The National in an interview.
The new projects consisting of branded apartments and villas will be built at the company’s Dh10 billion ($2.72 billion) Mina Al Arab master development off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah.
RAK Properties has unveiled three new residential projects with close to 900 units so far this year with the residences at one of its developments, Bayviews, selling out within a few hours of being launched earlier this year.
“There’s tremendous demand in Ras Al Khaimah,” said Mr Al Muhtadi.
“I think people realise the value to be had, they realise the potential of returns on their investments and we are seeing the appetite to invest in Ras Al Khaimah grow on a daily basis.”
The new projects will be financed through a mix of debt and equity and the company has a “very robust balance sheet and we have very healthy liquidity”.
“A lot of the financing comes from off-plan sales, but we have lines of credit with multiple banks if need be,” Mr Al Muhtadi said.
It also has plans to raise money through bonds as it continues to focus on developing new projects.
“That's one of the considerations but that's down the road as needed. That might be because we have a very strong development plan ahead of us. This is something that we may require in mid-25 [2025].”
The UAE’s property market rebounded strongly 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.
Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi recorded higher sales this year amid strong demand from buyers as the UAE economy expanded at its fastest pace in more than a decade, accelerating 7.9 per cent in 2022.
Dubai’s off-plan sales surged more than 100 per cent annually in May to Dh14 billion with the total number of off-plan units sold during the month rising more than 100 per cent to 5,476, EFG Hermes said in a report this month.
Abu Dhabi recorded 5,472 real estate transactions worth Dh27.9 billion in the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest data from the Department of Municipalities and Transport.
The value of the deals in the emirate more than doubled during the three-month period to the end of March while the volume of transactions, which include property sales and mortgages, rose by 66 per cent.
RAK Properties had set a target of Dh1 billion in sales for 2023 and achieved the target “two weeks back”, with sales of property to international investors including Russians, Chinese and Germans as well as UAE citizens, Mr Al Muhtadi said.
“The speed with which we are developing, rolling out and constructing … is helping us tremendously.”
“Investors when they see the route of progress that we are achieving on site, encouraged them to invest in the properties that we are offering.”
The company’s profit and revenue in 2023 will exceed that of last year amid the launch of new projects and growth in sales, he added.
In 2022, RAK Properties reported Dh408.2 million in revenue and the net profit during the period reached Dh30.7 million.
The company’s first-quarter net profit rose 46 per cent year-on-year to Dh44.5 million as revenue during the period more than doubled to Dh258.5 million.
“I am hoping that we are going to have a multiple of last year's profitability,” Mr Al Muhtadi said.
The company has a land bank both in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and will look “at potential partnerships, co-development in those Emirates as well” to start projects.
“This is something that we are studying very closely for next year but we have a very significant pipeline of projects in Ras Al Khaimah for this year and we are very focused on that,” he added.
It has already completed one project called Julphar Residence in Abu Dhabi and has started handing over homes to customers.
Mr Al Muhtadi expects interest rates to reduce next year and that will further encourage investors to boost investments in the property sector.
“Interest rates are close to having peaked and are going to get better and interest on mortgages might reduce. I see that as a positive indication.”
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Scores
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace
Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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57%20Seconds
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