It used to be a place to work but definitely not to play.
The frenetic pace of construction around the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) over the past five years has meant the sound of cement mixers and pneumatic drills has never been far away for the thousands of brokers, bankers and lawyers who populate it by day.
That is changing quickly as the cranes and scaffolds that have peppered the area for the past five years are replaced with completed apartment buildings and their residents, transforming the 44 hectare financial free zone from a nine-to-five workplace into a living community.
Last week Liberty House, the first mixed office and apartment building to be delivered at the site, was officially launched by its developer ETA Star. It is only the second apartment building to be completed since the 450 flats in the 43-storey Sky Gardens were handed over to owners.
Next to Liberty House, two other buildings with flats are near completion, including the 86-storey Index tower by Union Properties, with 520 flats and 25 floors of offices.
Firdaus Maniar, a senior risk consultant at the accountancy firm Horwath Mak, moved into Liberty House last year. Now his office is an lift ride away from his flat.
"I was the only resident in the floor and everything around me looked dead when I moved in," says Mr Maniar. "I moved in because of the convenience. You know Dubai and how busy it is and how much time it takes to move around.
"Also the metro station that has just opened up right across the building, that massively improved our lives over here. It cuts down time and costs."
The executive started working in the DIFC at the end of 2008 in the Gate Village, a precinct of the financial hub located behind the Arc de Triomphe-shaped Gate building.
"At that time, the area was quiet and there was not much space available," Mr Maniar says. "The shops had not opened up completely and there was a lot of construction going on."
Down at the trendy Zuma restaurant, which Mr Maniar has adopted as his networking venue, the tables are bustling with the emirate's financial movers and shakers while the surrounding boutiques and galleries are also benefiting from the arrival of the DIFC's first residents.
"During the week the majority of our clientèle are the business people from the DIFC," says Aleshree Guruparsald, the reservation supervisor of the restaurant that opened about a year ago. "But there is definitely much more activity now during weekends than before.
There is more activity in the whole DIFC too, says Ms Guruparsald, as art galleries and designer stores have opened. "That attracted guests too. There are always ladies coming in and asking around for Villa Moda," she says, adding that the weekend lunches now are so full that they recently started Friday brunches, which are "very successful".
About 97 per cent of Liberty House has been sold its developers say, but it is only 60 per cent occupied. The restaurants and retail outlets on the ground floor of the L-shaped building have yet to open.
It will eventually be directly linked to the Gate building by a tunnel, while a 1.5km boulevard at the back of the building is still under construction.
"I think that when all the buildings surrounding Liberty House will be ready, with the lake here, the tunnel going to the main gate, it will be a fantastic area," says Klaus Hoelscher, the managing director of the brokerage company Engel and Volkers.
Since it opened its doors, the DIFC has attracted about 700 firms with incentives that include 100 per cent foreign ownership, an independent regulatory environment and its own court system.
"There is always going to be a lot of demand for property there," says Charles Neil, the chief executive of the brokerage firm Landmark Properties.
Although the traditionally long waiting list for office space in DIFC has shrunk, demand for a prime location in Dubai is still strong among corporate occupiers as only 15 per cent of the total office stock in the city is considered Grade A space, suitable for blue-chip financial companies.
Brokers count on the DIFC's continuing popularity with financial firms to help spur demand for the hundreds of new flats to be delivered there, despite the oversupply of homes elsewhere in the emirate. Its biggest rival is likely to be the neighbouring Downtown Burj Khalifa development around the world's tallest tower.
"In regards to the construction going on, many people who come here and look at the place say I'd rather go to Downtown because it is more ready," says Mr Hoelscher. "But when this is all ready, there will be a melting of the two areas. It is basically the new central city location."
How have residential prices fared in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) compared to other areas of Dubai?
Klaus Hoelcher, the managing director of the property brokerage Engel and Volkers, says the company has been adversely affected by the downturn. "Residential prices in Liberty House, the last project that was handed over, reached Dh4,000 (US$1,088) per square foot at the peak of the market in 2008. They are now available at an average of Dh1,900," he says. But this is still well above the average of Dh1,022 per sq ft in Dubai's freehold areas, according to the consultancy Colliers International.
Have commercial prices held up at the DIFC?
"At the very peak, prices reached up to Dh5,000 per sq ft. In the Index tower, we have even seen offers up to Dh6,000, which in my opinion was never realistic," says Mr Hoelcher. "Now offices in the DIFC are about Dh2,000 to Dh2,200 per sq ft in the area."
Has the economic downturn affected the commercial market?
Yes, says James Knowles, a director of the brokerage Asteco. He adds that there have been few office transactions in the past six months. .
What are office rents like elsewhere in Dubai?
Prime office spaces are being leased at an average of Dh230 per sq ft per year, brokers say. At Jumeirah Lake Towers, office rents are at Dh100 per sq ft, according to the property consultancy CB Richard Ellis. Office rents in the less popular locations of Dubai have declined by up to 60 per cent in the past year. But in the DIFC or neighbouring Emaar Square, rents have fallen by just 30 per cent.
@Email:ngillet@thenational.ae
Moving%20Out%202
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Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
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.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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SPECS
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End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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Hot%20Seat
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Company%20profile
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'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Brief scores:
Toss: India, opted to field
Australia 158-4 (17 ov)
Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24
India 169-7 (17 ov)
Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22
Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
If%20you%20go
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Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Frida%20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
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