By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: The super-luxurious residential and commercial projects that had been initiated by foreign developers of United Arab Emirates (UAE) are rumored to be under a cloud as the construction work on some such projects had to be rescheduled following the impact on the real estate crises in the region. But the Gulf builders contend that everything is on track and their project will proceed as per plan.While the local real estate market is booming with the popularity of small housing projects initiated by local developers, investors in projects by property giants like Emaar Pakistan Pvt Ltd and Al Ghurair Giga Pakistan Pvt Ltd are worried about the status of their investments in both Islamabad and Karachi.One investor, requesting to remain anonymous shared that he had repeatedly visited the project site, only to see “barren land with a lot of machinery and work force carrying out tasks at a snail’s pace.
I have repeatedly inquired on the status of the venture and I am always assured that it would be completed on time. But I fail to understand how they would manage when my eyes tell me otherwise,” he expressed.On the other hand, an insider of the real estate industry informed that the UAE market is predicted to slump further and this will impact local projects taken up by these Gulf-based giants. He said “more projects would be cancelled and abandoned in the months to come and these are directly going to affect the projects in Pakistan too.”Referring to the UAE market, the source further stated that Emaar requires billions of Dirhams to complete their existing projects which they had planned to borrow from Abu Dhabi who have in turn asked for shares in the Emaar projects instead.“Similarly, other big developers such as Nakheel, Damac and Ruwad have laid off staff in massive numbers while shares of the real estate sector of UAE have plunged from as high as Dhs11 per share to a mere Dhs3 per share,” he informed.“The UAE developers that are here have been rumored to be planning to also lay off people or worse abandon projects and flee with the investors’ money” he continued. “The best bet in these times is caution, as the market is highly speculative right now.”
When The News contacted Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Pakistan, Dr Dia Malaeb, he denied any such news and said that they continue to believe in the Pakistani real estate market’s potential as the global financial meltdown had not affected this country as severely as the UAE market. He said that the projects that had already been launched would go ahead as planned and Emaar Pakistan would ensure that they are delivered to their investors on time and according to their agenda.Malaeb informed that their project Canyon Views in Islamabad is all set to be handed over to its investors in a few months’ time, whereas the work on The Highlands, also in Islamabad and Crescent Bay in Karachi continues to be completed as per the schedule.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Foreign real estate projects in Pakistan feel the heat of the UAE market downfall: The News
Friday, January 9, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Dubai dream turns sour as job losses mount: Dawn
DUBAI: Dubai's rapid expansion in recent years provided jobs for millions. But the global financial meltdown has abruptly ended the dream for many people as more and more firms sack staff to cut costs.Spectacular economic growth, spurred by a robust construction sector, lured people from far and wide to the booming city on the shores of the Gulf, tempted by high pay, low tax and -- for many Europeans -- the year-round sunshine.
Foreigners form most of the population in Dubai and with residency permits linked to employment many of the people who are losing their jobs face the added upheaval of leaving the country.
‘I don't feel that I was wronged. This is business... But I would have preferred a cut in my salary rather than being sacked,’ said an Arab man who was let go by government-controlled property group Nakheel.
Another former Nakheel employee: ‘Only four days before we were given the termination letter, our director told us in a meeting that the situation was very difficult and that the budget for our project had been cut by nearly three quarters.‘It was too quick,’ said the 30-year-old employee who was sacked at the end of November as one of 500 employees -- 15 per cent of the workforce -- who lost their jobs.
Nakheel has its fingerprints on most of Dubai's iconic projects, including three palm-shaped artificial islands and a cluster of islands in the shape of a world map.
It unveiled in early October another gigantic project to erect a one kilometre high tower, which, if ever built, would dwarf the unfinished Burj Dubai, currently standing around 700 metres (765 yards) high.
Property sold like hot cakes for the past few years but demand has slumped amid the global credit crunch as panicking investors and creditors fled the market.
All of sudden, the viability of the grandiose property projects has become questionable.
Nakheel's job cuts programme is one of the largest so far in the United Arab Emirates, but is far from the only one.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Dubai dream turns sour as job losses mount: Dawn
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Global financial crunch hits real estate sector: The News
Sunday, December 28, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Year 2008 has proved to be a rather rollercoaster ride for the real estate sector. It started off dismally in January, following massive flight of investment after former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and then underwent global financial crunch. However, it ended on a positive note as many new projects for the middle income group were introduced. Meanwhile, local investors, though severely wounded by heavy losses, also returned to Pakistani market from United Arab Emirates by October. Nevertheless, market experts were of the opinion that the year could not be considered positive for the sector as the damage done was far more than what was recovered in the past two months.
“Interestingly, though the commencement of the year promised little following the tragic incident on December 27, 2007 and it seemed to be the worst period in the history of Pakistan, average price of properties remained higher than what they had been when real estate recession started back in 2005,” stated Head of Real Estate Research at PakrealEstate.com, Shahbaz Mukhtar. Mukhtar said that property prices in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi were in fact 20 to 25 per cent higher compared to 2005 when the real estate sector recorded its first downward slide.
Citing examples, he shared that in 2005, a 500sq yard plot in F7 area of Islamabad cost approximately Rs30 million whereas in 2008 the same was estimated at around Rs45 million. Mukhtar went on to say that apart from natural appreciation over time, the development that took place in an area also mattered greatly for property evaluation. He gave the example of DHA phase VIII Karachi where a little development over months led to prices actually dipping in 2008. Going over a period of five years, Mukhtar said that a 500 square yard plot in phase VIII cost Rs1-1.5 million in 2002, which soared to Rs10-12 million at its peak in 2005. He said as the DHA failed to maintain the development progress, today the same property is valued at Rs6-7 million only.
The real estate researcher also enunciated the Islamabad rental market stood humble in 2008 as the demand by foreigners reduced as most moved away to the ‘Diplomatic Enclave’ established for them. He said acts of terrorism in the year had also compelled many of them to move away from the country leaving the houses empty behind them. “The rupee-dollar parity also affected the rental market of Islamabad as the rents were in fact decided in dollars only,” he elucidated.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Global financial crunch hits real estate sector: The News
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Year 2008 has proved to be a rather rollercoaster ride for the real estate sector. It started off dismally in January, following massive flight of investment after former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and then underwent global financial crunch. However, it ended on a positive note as many new projects for the middle income group were introduced. Meanwhile, local investors, though severely wounded by heavy losses, also returned to Pakistani market from United Arab Emirates by October. Nevertheless, market experts were of the opinion that the year could not be considered positive for the sector as the damage done was far more than what was recovered in the past two months.
“Interestingly, though the commencement of the year promised little following the tragic incident on December 27, 2007 and it seemed to be the worst period in the history of Pakistan, average price of properties remained higher than what they had been when real estate recession started back in 2005,” stated Head of Real Estate Research at PakrealEstate.com, Shahbaz Mukhtar. Mukhtar said that property prices in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi were in fact 20 to 25 per cent higher compared to 2005 when the real estate sector recorded its first downward slide.
Citing examples, he shared that in 2005, a 500sq yard plot in F7 area of Islamabad cost approximately Rs30 million whereas in 2008 the same was estimated at around Rs45 million. Mukhtar went on to say that apart from natural appreciation over time, the development that took place in an area also mattered greatly for property evaluation. He gave the example of DHA phase VIII Karachi where a little development over months led to prices actually dipping in 2008. Going over a period of five years, Mukhtar said that a 500 square yard plot in phase VIII cost Rs1-1.5 million in 2002, which soared to Rs10-12 million at its peak in 2005. He said as the DHA failed to maintain the development progress, today the same property is valued at Rs6-7 million only.
The real estate researcher also enunciated the Islamabad rental market stood humble in 2008 as the demand by foreigners reduced as most moved away to the ‘Diplomatic Enclave’ established for them. He said acts of terrorism in the year had also compelled many of them to move away from the country leaving the houses empty behind them. “The rupee-dollar parity also affected the rental market of Islamabad as the rents were in fact decided in dollars only,” he elucidated.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Global financial crunch hits real estate sector: The News
Friday, December 12, 2008
Pakistanis worried about UAE investments: The News
Friday, December 12, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Pakistani real estate investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are not the only ones to have lost out heavily on their investments, for many well-off Pakistani families looking towards owning a home in the pearl of the desert are now in a lurch as construction for several projects has stopped due to the financial crunch the Arab country is facing.
One Pakistani investor, Waleed Mughal who had invested in a residential project is “worried to death” over what would happen now as he had made plans to move out of his rented villa and take up residence in his own home once completed.He expressed that the freehold developers had promised to complete the project by early 2010 and he had invested heavily in owning an apartment. “Now the project is 80 per cent complete but the future of the remaining 20 per cent is uncertain. Despite repeated queries, I haven’t received any response on what is likely to happen next,” he articulated.
Many others like Waleed are in the same dilemma as the freehold properties of UAE promised world class luxuries and were priced for the same. Not being professional investors, and digging in to their savings to make their dreams come true, these families are now completely distressed.According to a real estate expert’s analysis, the UAE real estate market has already declined by 22 per cent and a further 17 per cent of the downfall is expected before the year ends.
While local investors have been left severely wounded by the losses they experienced there, which run in millions and billions of rupees, many families dreaming of Dubai as their second home and having permanent residency are now pale with fear over their investments.“Though the UAE government continues to decline the fact, several projects in the country have come to a standstill” informs a real estate expert from UAE. He shares that the Arab country claims that the projects have simply slowed down and all will be well by the beginning of the new year, but the reality is far from it.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistanis worried about UAE investments: The News
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Pakistani real estate investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are not the only ones to have lost out heavily on their investments, for many well-off Pakistani families looking towards owning a home in the pearl of the desert are now in a lurch as construction for several projects has stopped due to the financial crunch the Arab country is facing.
One Pakistani investor, Waleed Mughal who had invested in a residential project is “worried to death” over what would happen now as he had made plans to move out of his rented villa and take up residence in his own home once completed.He expressed that the freehold developers had promised to complete the project by early 2010 and he had invested heavily in owning an apartment. “Now the project is 80 per cent complete but the future of the remaining 20 per cent is uncertain. Despite repeated queries, I haven’t received any response on what is likely to happen next,” he articulated.
Many others like Waleed are in the same dilemma as the freehold properties of UAE promised world class luxuries and were priced for the same. Not being professional investors, and digging in to their savings to make their dreams come true, these families are now completely distressed.According to a real estate expert’s analysis, the UAE real estate market has already declined by 22 per cent and a further 17 per cent of the downfall is expected before the year ends.
While local investors have been left severely wounded by the losses they experienced there, which run in millions and billions of rupees, many families dreaming of Dubai as their second home and having permanent residency are now pale with fear over their investments.“Though the UAE government continues to decline the fact, several projects in the country have come to a standstill” informs a real estate expert from UAE. He shares that the Arab country claims that the projects have simply slowed down and all will be well by the beginning of the new year, but the reality is far from it.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistanis worried about UAE investments: The News
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Opportunities for Pakistan in the Global Financial Slump: Economistan
FREE MARKETS: Many opportunities abound for countries like Pakistan due to the dynamics of the essential commodity prices coupled with low shipping rates. Time to harness these to our advantage.
By Saad Sarwar Muhammad
Monday, November 17, 2008
The whole world is undergoing a major financial crisis which has caused the downturn of almost all the developed world economies with job losses, bailouts and financial losses becoming the order of the day. In such unprecedented times of financial trouble the developed world is looking towards developing countries with huge reserves and financial muscle. Countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey fit the bill. They were invited in the recently held summit of the G-20 to help the developed economies recover from the slump and in some way bail out the developed countries from the fiasco they are in.
The world has been undergoing a rollercoaster ride when it comes to the prices of different commodities, the stock market index levels and the value of dollar and yen versus other major currencies. Oil and Gold are two commodities that have hit a nosedive in recent times. Iran has reportedly given the intent to convert its reserves into Gold in order to overcome the deficit that can result in the reduction of price of oil. The value of dollar and yen is soaring at a time against major European currencies giving the indication of more trust in the resilience of the US economy as compared to the EU.
Pakistan has been suffering its own financial crisis lately, which somehow seems unrelated to the recent global recession. Pakistan’s problems have mostly been homegrown based on the energy crisis due to shortage of alternative energy power sources such as hydel, wind, solar and to some extent nuclear. Pakistan’s financial crisis has resulted from the withdrawal of funds from Pakistan’s stock market, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) since the coming of the new civilian government. Pakistan’s stock market, KSE, has lost close to $36 billion dollars this year in market capitalization. Resultantly, the Pakistani rupee has also borne the brunt with the value of rupee falling from around 60 to a dollar from the beginning of the year to around 80 to a dollar at the moment (many currency dealers have also been arrested in the wake of the rupee devaluation, famous among them the firm of Khanani and Kalia). Not to mention the floor imposed on the KSE to allow the stock market to breathe a sigh of relief. The sigh has converted to deep sleep as the floor remains imposed after many many weeks.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Opportunities for Pakistan in the Global Financial Slump: Economistan
By Saad Sarwar Muhammad
Monday, November 17, 2008
The whole world is undergoing a major financial crisis which has caused the downturn of almost all the developed world economies with job losses, bailouts and financial losses becoming the order of the day. In such unprecedented times of financial trouble the developed world is looking towards developing countries with huge reserves and financial muscle. Countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey fit the bill. They were invited in the recently held summit of the G-20 to help the developed economies recover from the slump and in some way bail out the developed countries from the fiasco they are in.
The world has been undergoing a rollercoaster ride when it comes to the prices of different commodities, the stock market index levels and the value of dollar and yen versus other major currencies. Oil and Gold are two commodities that have hit a nosedive in recent times. Iran has reportedly given the intent to convert its reserves into Gold in order to overcome the deficit that can result in the reduction of price of oil. The value of dollar and yen is soaring at a time against major European currencies giving the indication of more trust in the resilience of the US economy as compared to the EU.
Pakistan has been suffering its own financial crisis lately, which somehow seems unrelated to the recent global recession. Pakistan’s problems have mostly been homegrown based on the energy crisis due to shortage of alternative energy power sources such as hydel, wind, solar and to some extent nuclear. Pakistan’s financial crisis has resulted from the withdrawal of funds from Pakistan’s stock market, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) since the coming of the new civilian government. Pakistan’s stock market, KSE, has lost close to $36 billion dollars this year in market capitalization. Resultantly, the Pakistani rupee has also borne the brunt with the value of rupee falling from around 60 to a dollar from the beginning of the year to around 80 to a dollar at the moment (many currency dealers have also been arrested in the wake of the rupee devaluation, famous among them the firm of Khanani and Kalia). Not to mention the floor imposed on the KSE to allow the stock market to breathe a sigh of relief. The sigh has converted to deep sleep as the floor remains imposed after many many weeks.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Opportunities for Pakistan in the Global Financial Slump: Economistan
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Dubai property boom halts: The News
Sunday, November 16, 2008
DUBAI: Dubai property shares plunged and its biggest private developer slashed jobs this week as the global financial crisis tightened its grip on the tiny emirate, until now synonymous with the Gulf Arab real estate boom.
Dubai’s glittering skyline and luxury tourism sector have lured investors in droves over the past five years. But property prices have begun to fall, according to brokers and banks, in one of the clearest signs to date that the bubble has burst.
A real estate crash in Dubai would call into question the futures of millions of immigrant workers, many from India and Pakistan, and whether energy exporter Abu Dhabi would run to the rescue of its high-flying but poorer neighbour.”Villas that were very hot before the crisis have fallen. The buyers were chasing the sellers but now it’s the other way round,” said Quaid Abbas, property consultant at Engel & Volkers.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Dubai property boom halts: The News
Real estate boom: The News
People liquidating bank savings to invest in property; FPCCI body on housing and construction SVP Munir Sultan says rates to remain stable and hike after March; realtors say investors fearing financial meltdown in UAE coming back home
Sunday, November 16, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Local builders in Pakistan are having a field day as the newly introduced projects all over Pakistan have received tremendous positive response marking the first signs of real estate sector revival in the country.
Real estate agents and builders said that though prices continue to remain low owing to recession - the demand for properties is increasing as investors are coming back home after trying their luck in UAE.Senior Vice President of FPCCI Sub committee on Housing and Construction, Munir Sultan predicted that the prices of properties would remain stable for the time being and would only hike after March. Estate agents and experts informed that the buyers of these properties are investors having money stashed in local and foreign banks and following the global credit crunch feared for their savings.
Sultan explained: “These are ordinary well to-do people of our society who liquidated their bank savings and opted for safe heaven investment in real estate. Properties are sound investments as no one can steal them from you and more importantly because regardless of the political or economical conditions, land assets do eventually gain value with time.”
He further said that Pakistan urgently needs to work on its investors’ confidence and the government should take steps to clear the country of its black economy that is working parallel to the legal system.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Real estate boom: The News
Sunday, November 16, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Local builders in Pakistan are having a field day as the newly introduced projects all over Pakistan have received tremendous positive response marking the first signs of real estate sector revival in the country.
Real estate agents and builders said that though prices continue to remain low owing to recession - the demand for properties is increasing as investors are coming back home after trying their luck in UAE.Senior Vice President of FPCCI Sub committee on Housing and Construction, Munir Sultan predicted that the prices of properties would remain stable for the time being and would only hike after March. Estate agents and experts informed that the buyers of these properties are investors having money stashed in local and foreign banks and following the global credit crunch feared for their savings.
Sultan explained: “These are ordinary well to-do people of our society who liquidated their bank savings and opted for safe heaven investment in real estate. Properties are sound investments as no one can steal them from you and more importantly because regardless of the political or economical conditions, land assets do eventually gain value with time.”
He further said that Pakistan urgently needs to work on its investors’ confidence and the government should take steps to clear the country of its black economy that is working parallel to the legal system.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Real estate boom: The News
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