Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s biggest listed developer, said that the average occupancy rate for its prime Grade A commercial property in the capital reached a record 97 per cent, driven by higher demand in the emirate.
Occupancy rates at the towers located at the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial centre on Al Maryah Island, rose to 99 per cent compared with 79 per cent when it was acquired by Aldar in 2022, the developer said in a statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, the occupancy rate in Aldar's other Grade A commercial properties in Abu Dhabi, HQ and International Tower, is at 95 per cent.
“With a favourable business environment, the city continues to be an attractive destination for leading global corporates to establish their regional presence, and we are seeing this result in strong demand for future developments,” Jassem Busaibe, chief executive at Aldar Investment, said.
The average lease term of the towers at ADGM spans four years and host companies such as PwC, Deloitte, Brevan Howard, Cleveland Clinic, Adnoc, G42 Asset Management and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Aldar said.
The developer said that Al Maryah Tower, another prime commercial property in the capital, is expected to reach a pre-leasing occupancy rate of 50 per cent by the end of this year and will be operational in the first quarter of next year.
In December, Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company partnered to acquire Al Maryah Tower in a deal valued at Dh450 million ($122.5 million).
“During the first half of 2023, the office sector in Abu Dhabi enjoyed robust growth with Grade A rents returning to levels last seen in 2016,” Aldar said.
“The current performance of the office market is supported by a positive economic landscape, as demand for high quality Grade A assets remains firm amid limited supply, resulting in rising occupancy rates across prime commercial properties.”
The property market in the UAE bounced back strongly from the pandemic-driven slowdown in 2021 and the trend has continued since then as its economy, the Arab world's second-largest, remains on a solid growth trajectory.
Demand for office space across Abu Dhabi remained “buoyant” throughout 2022, according to a March report by UK-based consultancy Savills.
There has been a significant surge in transactional activity in Abu Dhabi's office market during the first half of 2023, reflecting “the city's commitment to economic diversification and [this] serves as a powerful catalyst in boosting investor confidence”, Knight Frank said in a report in July.
Average rents within Abu Dhabi free zones, which now include Al Reem Island, have risen by 31 per cent over the past 12 months to rates of up to Dh1,600 a square metre.
The increase has been driven by a combination of greater demand from businesses expanding their operations and a limited supply of available commercial space, according to Knight Frank.
In the first six months of this year, commercial office sales transactions rose to Dh1.3 billion, representing a 220 per cent increase in sales transactions compared to the same period last year, Andrew Love, partner and head of ME capital markets at Knight Frank, said.
“Notably, almost 70 per cent of these transactions in 2023 took place on Al Reem Island and Al Maryah Island, amounting to a combined total of Dh919 million, driven by the availability of Grade A supply, which remains highly sought after but [in] very short supply across the city, and also by the recent announcement of ADGM's expansion.”
The ADGM said in May that it will expand tenfold with the addition of Al Reem Island, increasing the district's combined geographic area to about 1,438 hectares.
The move will make it one of the world’s largest international financial districts, the ADGM said at the time.
Abu Dhabi's office market is set for an estimated 109,500 square metres of additional office space within the next two years, spread across Al Raha Beach, the Abu Dhabi mainland, Al Reem Island and Khalifa City, Knight Frank said.
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
WITHIN%20SAND
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Sugary teas and iced coffees
The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.
For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
