Video length: 07:12 Analysis Leisure & Hospitality Hotel franchising model takes off in the Gulf Global hospitality brands are aggressively expanding across the Gulf, stepping up competition and giving disgruntled owners unprecedented freedom to choose how and by whom their hotels should be run. Some hotel owners are opting for franchising agreements and third-party management arrangements. “Operators have become more flexible when offering their brands under a franchise than they […] June 12, 2024
Analysis Construction Gulf construction sector rethinks contract terms as costs rise The Gulf’s construction industry is rethinking the developer-contractor relationship, and procurement and supply chain management, to stay ahead of rising prices of materials and transport bottlenecks as a result of geopolitical volatility. “We are in a part of the world that is very conducive to finding alternatives,” Imad Itani, head of innovation at the Dubai […] June 7, 2024
Video length: 07:12 Analysis Leisure & Hospitality UAE hotel rebrandings a sign of discontent in the sector Growing discontent among UAE hotel owners about the treatment they are receiving from operators has resulted in a wave of hospitality rebrandings. More than a dozen major hotels across the UAE have been reflagged in the past year. Emirati, Spanish and Chinese hotel brands have also disclosed plans to pursue the same strategy as part […] June 5, 2024
Leisure & Hospitality Dubai hotel developer pins success on green credentials As protests against mass tourism sweep across Europe, the head of a Dubai-based developer with business in Ibiza said he is confident his company’s sustainability credentials can address such concerns. Kabir Mulchandani, founder and chairman of Five Holdings, believes that mounting apprehension around increasing visitor flows to the world’s most sought-after destinations is rooted in […] June 4, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Overseas real estate talent takes on Omani bureaucracy Oman’s bid to develop its expanse of beaches, mountains and deserts means it needs to attract overseas real-estate expertise, but recent government restrictions are hindering its ambitions. In May Club Med said it would build its first Middle Eastern resort in Musandam. Abu Dhabi developer Eagle Hills is nearing the opening of its Mandarin Oriental-flagged […] June 2, 2024
Video length: 06:12 Analysis Real Estate Dubai fractional ownership is promising, but untested Fractional ownership of property in Dubai promises to widen access to real estate investment in the emirate’s surging market. But the lack of a proven secondary market raises questions about just how much liquidity this asset class can count on in a potential crisis, experts say. Buying even small portions of one or more units […] May 29, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Flexibility and amenities key to UAE office sector’s future As workers globally grow resistant to spending all week at their desks, even the UAE’s strong-performing office sector must rethink its offering to meet shifting demand, industry professionals have told AGBI. “Since the pandemic, people have realised that the workplace has changed for ever. We are not going back to working in the office 80 […] May 27, 2024
Analysis Real Estate UAE offices in demand – in contrast to the West Offices in the UAE are outperforming Western equivalents, with a steady influx of foreign businesses and local developers’ preference for residential projects. “The need for more Grade A office space is becoming increasingly urgent,” Behnam Bargh, managing director at real estate agency CRC, told AGBI. “Addressing this issue will be crucial for maintaining the country’s […] May 24, 2024
Real Estate Abu Dhabi developer spots opportunity in Latvia Abu Dhabi developer Eagle Hills Properties announced a €3 billion ($3.25 billion) investment in the Latvian capital city of Riga, as the UAE continues its investment drive into Europe. Eagle Hills’ Riga Waterfront, which was unveiled on Thursday, will ultimately encompass 8,000 luxury homes for 30,000 residents on a redeveloped site along 5 kilometres at […] May 23, 2024
Real Estate Dubai’s rich switch from home buyers to investors Wealthy foreigners are increasingly eyeing luxury Dubai homes as investments, driven by a dearth of available real estate at the high end of the market. This is a shift from last year, when affluent buyers primarily saw purchases of homes in the emirate as main residences, or vacation or retirement homes, Knight Frank said in […] May 22, 2024
Real Estate Foreign companies push up cost of Riyadh’s scarce office space Rental rates in Riyadh’s office sector rose by up to 36 percent in the first quarter of this year as a result of increased demand from foreign companies and occupancy rates approaching 100 percent. Three quarters of all enquiries for office space directed to the real estate company Savills in the first three months of […] May 20, 2024
Analysis Aviation Airport chiefs size up ways to meet GCC airspace demand The annual number of air travellers to and from the Middle East is projected to pass the half-billion mark next year, meaning aviation authorities need to both expand and streamline use of available airspace, senior GCC airport chiefs have told AGBI. Oman is in talks with a neighbouring Gulf state to unlock a new air […] May 16, 2024
Opinion Infrastructure Sponge cities are the low-hanging fruit of flood mitigation The question of what this arid desert country can do to avoid a repeat of April 16 is an urgent one May 14, 2024
Real Estate Overseas buyers dominate in Sharjah’s reformed real estate Overseas buyers in Arada’s two mega-developments in Sharjah have vastly outnumbered locals in the year-and-a-half since the emirate expanded full real estate ownership rights to non-GCC nationals. From when Aljada, Sharjah’s biggest mixed-use project, launched in 2017 until the land reform of late October 2022, Emirati nationals bought more than 63 percent of the value […] May 13, 2024
Construction Drake & Scull losses narrow before return to trading Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International has trimmed its losses in the first quarter of this year as it nears the end of a drawn-out capital restructuring process. The Dubai-based utilities and infrastructure engineering company said in a press release accompanying disclosures to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) that revenue jumped 55 percent year on […] May 9, 2024
Tourism Tourism chiefs call for GCC-wide events calendar Gulf Cooperation Council nations should co-ordinate their event schedules to avoid overlaps and entice tourists to make multiple stops in the region, officials have said at the Arabian Travel Market conference. The six GCC governments – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – are exploring ways to co-operate on tourism, including a […] May 9, 2024
INTERVIEW Banking & Finance Wealth manager seeks Gulf growth despite setbacks in UK St James’s Place, the UK’s largest wealth manager, plans to target local customers to expand its one-year-old Gulf operation as it seeks to brush off reputational setbacks in its home market. In February SJP disclosed that it had set aside more than $500 million for potential client refunds after an increase in complaints about its […] May 7, 2024
Aviation Boeing’s ‘negative issues’ are top concern for FlyDubai CEO Escalating regional tensions and recent floods in Dubai have “not especially” affected FlyDubai’s operations, but the low-cost airline’s chief executive said he was closely monitoring US plane maker Boeing’s response to a string of safety scandals. “We are definitely very concerned about the delays and all the negative issues that are in the pipeline or […] May 7, 2024
Analysis Aviation Luggage, airspace and size: challenges for Dubai’s new airport Sizing, air traffic control and passenger handling are among the challenges Dubai will face in building the world’s largest airport within the next 10 years, industry experts tell AGBI. Authorities announced last month plans to expand Al Maktoum International into a facility that will handle 150 million passengers annually within a decade, and eventually 260 […] May 6, 2024
Real Estate Demand for beach plots sells 80% of The World villas in days An ultra-luxe villa community planned for Dubai’s The World Islands is more than 80 percent sold only days after first being announced, thanks to the dearth of available beachfront plots in the city. The boutique developer Amali Properties, co-founded by siblings Ali and Amira Sajwani of Damac Properties, said last week that the community will […] May 5, 2024
Economy Flooding dents UAE business confidence but optimism remains Business and consumer confidence in the UAE was hamstrung by last month’s heavy rain and flooding, leading to the slowest increase in orders since February 2023, according to a business sentiment survey published on Friday. Private business activity in the non-oil sector still showed significant growth in April amid a “robust” economic landscape and the […] May 3, 2024
Real Estate Ultra-luxe villas tipped to revive interest in Dubai’s The World Amali Properties plans to build 24 homes in the South American section of the island development May 2, 2024
