GFH Financial Group, the Bahraini Sharia-compliant investment house, is drawing up a development strategy for a 25 million square metre land bank with a US$1.2 billion value, across the GCC, India and Africa that it acquired in August, its chief executive said.
"We are currently negotiating with several parties and hope that over the coming 12 to 18 months we will be able to decide the direction we wish to take and choose the right partner for it within this period," Hisham Al Rayes, chief executive of GFH said.
"This is one of the key land banks in the region, and we are exploring plans to list it, or make strategic partnerships with international parties to have access to those lands."
An appropriate partner, or partners, would be a "real estate developer that needs attractive valuations on land banks to be able to gain strong entry into key markets," Mr Al Rayes said.
The talks at present are with international companies, he added, but GCC developers with plans to expand outside the region may also be interested. "We are looking to create partnerships and maybe exit at a certain point in time, which we expect would achieve huge returns for our shareholders in the medium term."
The land bank is the result of three funds GFH managed before the 2008 financial crash that failed to return 100 per cent of profits to their clients.
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“Those three funds were strategic land banks that had huge growth potential pre-2008, but [experienced] a shift in growth prospects due to the economic crisis,” Mr Al Rayes explained.
“So, we took the strategic decision for GFH to acquire the land and aggregate it together to create one of the largest land banks in the region.”
He cited Mohamed Alabbar, the founder of UAE-based developer Emaar Properties, which last month listed its subsidiary Emaar Development on the Dubai index, as having said one of the key advantages a developer can have is a sizeable land bank.
“So we took those scattered land banks and aggregated them under one umbrella to create huge value for real estate companies,” Mr Al Rayes said.
Firming up a strategy for the land bank is likely to take at least a year because of the challenge in finding one partner interested in developing across all the countries it covers.
“It’s a huge portfolio and we may end up breaking it up,” he said.
“Real estate developers are mainly localised. It’s rare that you find a local developer with operations worldwide, because it has to do with local knowledge and so on.”
GFH registered a net profit of $25.09m for the third quarter of 2017 compared to a loss of $7.58m for the same period in 2016, and expects a similar performance for the final quarter and into 2018, the chief executive said.
The investment bank, whose shares are listed in Bahrain, Kuwait and Dubai, is aiming for approval from Saudi Arabia in the first half of next year to cross-list on the Tadawul stock exchange.
“Saudi Arabia is starting with pilot companies cross-listing as it becomes more sophisticated and competitive,” said Mr Al Rayes.
“We satisfy the criteria since we are already in three markets and are familiar with such arrangements. However, there is huge competition for this pilot and I hope we manage to be one of the chosen companies.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
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
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
