Sharjah developer Arada is considering opportunities in the US as part of its global expansion plans, says its vice chairman Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed.
“The US really does look good to us, the housing market over there, the huge need for housing,” Prince Khaled told Abu Dhabi Finance Week on Tuesday.
Arada will seek to develop property projects in Miami, Austin, and Nashville in Tennessee as the “southern area is exciting”, he said. He did not disclose the timeline or the total investment the company is targeting.
Arada, a joint venture between KBW Investments, a company controlled by Prince Khaled, and Sharjah-based Basma Group, has been expanding in markets including the UK and Australia.
This week, the company said it would buy the 99-101 Newington Causeway site, comprising two vacant buildings, in the south London borough of Southwark. The company plans to develop homes and amenities at the former Salvation Army headquarters, it said, without revealing the value of the deal.
Last month, the company announced an investment up to £325 million ($427.7 million) to acquire an 80 per cent stake in the £2.5 billion Thameside West waterfront development in London's Royal Docks, its second acquisition in the market after buying 75 per cent of Regal, a London mixed-used developer, in September.
“London's fundamentals haven't changed, they have just got cheaper and this is what we see right now,” Prince Khaled said.
“There’s overregulation, there's the high interest rates, there's a few issues here and there, but end of the day, when everybody is leaving, this is the opportunity for people like us to actually see there's a real opportunity.”
There is also shortage of housing supply in the market, which makes it attractive for developers to launch new projects, he added.
“I am really excited about the growth in London that's going to happen [in] the next five to seven years. And we're here for the long term, we are not here for a quick turnaround and leave. We are there for the next 10 to 15 years.”
The company is also planning to launch projects in Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of next year and is in talks with “five or six quite large entities”, Prince Khaled said.
“We see a huge need for housing in Saudi Arabia. There may be two million houses that need to be built there, and the local developers are not going to be able to fulfil it.”
Last year, Arada announced its expansion plans in Australia by opening an office in Sydney. It plans to develop Dh6 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of projects in the country's most populous city.
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
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Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
- Germany (14%)
- Denmark (13%)
- Switzerland (13%)
- United Kingdom (12%)
- Luxembourg (10%)
Source: VCOe
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
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