DUBAI // Nakheel has begun refilling swimming pools at a luxury Palm Jumeirah development, saying it had collected some of the Dh15 million in service fees owed by owners.
The developer also began releasing funds to pay service providers, 12 days after draining the pools because of non-payment of the fees.
Services such as the pools and district cooling at the Marina Residence towers will now operate normally, the developer said.
Residents confirmed yesterday that one of the six pools, which had been drained this month, was being filled up but some expressed doubt that the dispute was over.
“We have released funds to allow common area facilities, such as cooling and pools, to continue,” a Nakheel spokeswoman said.
“The pool contractor is now back onsite and facilities will be back to normal as soon as possible.”
Nakheel did not say how much it had collected. But it said it would work with the owners association to collect the millions of dirhams still unpaid and address the issue of defaulters.
“I’m surprised they are filling the pools so quickly, that’s good news,” said Ann, a marketing executive and resident who preferred not to give her full name.
“But I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Nakheel’s actions. It’s constantly upsetting; we don’t know what they’re going to do next”
On Tuesday, the developer said it had no option but to drain the pools as it would not be able to pay maintenance companies until service fees were received.
Some residents say they have not received notice from Nakheel about outstanding bills, while others say they have been paid.
More than 100 owners at Marina Residence have signed petitions urging the Real Estate Regulatory Agency to register their Owners Association, remove Nakheel as manager and find a replacement.
Some said they had paid between Dh20,000 and Dh35,000 in annual service charges for two to three-bedroom apartments, but had not been given a list of the fees, the financial statement for last year or details of contracts with service providers.
“This was sold as Nakheel’s flagship project but now they cut off services?” asked an owner who did not wish to be identified. “We don’t even know what we are paying for. They are not being transparent and we need clarity.”
Residents acknowledged some owners had not paid their service fees, but they added that many had not received notices from Nakheel.
Others said there was a surplus of more than Dh6m in fees collected in 2010 but the developer had not specified whether this had been used.
Residents also said they were charged Dh2m in annual management fees when other companies charged less than half that amount.
Nakheel did not respond to those statements.
Ann moved to Marina Residence in March from Shoreline Apartments, which is also managed by Nakheel.
Residents of Shoreline, in the same development as Marina Residence, were barred from access to the beach and other facilities last December over disputed fees.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
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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.”
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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