Mövenpick Dubai sale fetches Kingdom Holding $95m



Saudi Prince Al Waleed’s Kingdom Holding has sold a Dubai hotel for US$95 million.

Dubai-based Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), a unit of Kingdom Holding, closed the sale of the five-star Mövenpick Hotel and Apartments in Bur Dubai to unidentified investors on Sunday. It has 255 rooms and 57 apartments.

“The sale is a testament to the economic robustness of Dubai and to the buoyant merger and acquisition environment in the hospitality sector here,” said Sarmad Zok, the chairman and chief executive of KHI and a member of Kingdom Holding Company’s (KHC) board of directors.

Kingdom Holding had assets worth 15.3 billion Saudi riyals (Dh14.97bn) available for sale at the end of September, up from 13.6 billion riyals year-on-year – the majority of them overseas.

Last year, KHI sold its Mövenpick Resort and Spa Mauritius to Hawaii-based Outrigger Hotels and Resorts for $40 million.

KHI focuses on acquiring and developing hotels and resorts in high-growth emerging markets such as the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It has interests in 18 hotels across luxury hotel operators such as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Raffles Holding International and InterContinental.

Kingdom Holding’s portfolio comprises 22 properties globally such as the George V Four Seasons Hotel in Paris, The Plaza Fairmont in New York, the Savoy Hotel in London, the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto and the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

While online Dubai property sites have some properties within the midscale sector for sale, the Mövenpick sale would be one of the few transactions in the luxury market that have been in the news.

An asset management division of Bank Muscat made its first overseas investment by acquiring 294-room Mövenpick Hotel, Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai in June.

Arabian Gulf investors continue to acquire assets overseas. Dubai’s Al Habtoor Group, which owns the Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah and the InterContinental Hotel Budapest, bought the President Abraham Lincoln hotel in Illinois that is branded under Hilton’s DoubleTree.

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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid 

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Credit Score explained

What is a credit score?

In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.

Why is it important?

Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.

How is it calculated?

The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.

How can I improve my score?

By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.

How do I know if my score is low or high?

By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.

How much does it cost?

A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.

Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi. 

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

The cost of Covid testing around the world

Egypt

Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists

Information can be found through VFS Global.

Jordan

Dh212

Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.

Cambodia

Dh478

Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.

Zanzibar

AED 295

Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.

Abu Dhabi

Dh85

Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.

UK

From Dh400

Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.

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