Jebel Ali Free Zone reached record revenues of Dh1.53 billion last year as rents in Dubai’s industrial district soared, pushed up by increased demand amid government plans to build the world’s leading logistics hub in the emirate.
The free zone is an industrial area exempt from foreign ownership restrictions. It rents out warehouse space to companies, and is located close to several of Dubai’s zoned industrial and logistics areas, and the Jebel Ali Port.
JAFZ paid down a big chunk of its outstanding debts last year, while annual profits rose to Dh690 million from Dh 252m, according to a London Stock Exchange filing.
“JAFZ’s fundamentals are very strong,” said Edward Batten, associate director at Knight Frank, a property consultancy. “It’s a household name … [and] the busiest port outside of Asia.”
Rents, which currently stand at about Dh36 per square foot for industrial space at JAFZ, increased by 19 per cent in the second half of 2013, and are trending up, according to data from Knight Frank.
“We’re seeing a big squeeze on available stock,” said Mr Batten. “There’s a lot of leasing activity,”
Industrial, manufacturing and logistics firms account for the highest number of rental inquiries for the JAFZ site, followed by the food and beverage sector, according to the data.
Profit increases were driven by a major fall in costs, following the transfer of an “integrated facility complex”, believed to be its conference centre, to its parent company. In exchange for this, Dubai World paid Dh1.1bn toward reducing the free zone’s debt pile, according to the filing.
This move enabled the free zone to cut its gearing ratio – which measures the company’s debts as a proportion of total capital held – from 50 per cent in 2012 to 39 per cent in last year.
JAFZ issued a Dh2.38bn Islamic bond in 2013, which is set to mature in 2019. That is in addition to a term loan of Dh4.4bn, of which Dh1.81bn has so far been repaid.
The transfer of the building also helped to cut the free zone’s costs.
“JAFZ didn’t continue with the investment [in the conference centre] because they would have completed it at the wrong time in the market,” said Mr Batten. “[But] we’re now seeing real growth in the market, and big inquiries in the office sector. Will start doing deals there sooner rather than later.
“The conference centre is probably going to come to market at a very good time,” he said.
JAFZ, which covers an area of 56 sq kilometres, owns an estimated Dh6.13bn of investment property, according to the filing.
“We enjoy the advantage of having the port, the free zone, the logistics corridor and the Al Maktoum airport with a small area,” said Hisham Al Shirawi, JAFZ’s chairman. “That’s the biggest and most efficient logistics corridor in the world – [cargo can move] from sea to plane in no time.”
abouyamourn@thenational.ae
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
GRAN%20TURISMO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Neill%20Blomkamp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Harbour%2C%20Orlando%20Bloom%2C%20Archie%20Madekwe%2C%20Darren%20Barnet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
