Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of UAE real estate portal Bayut, closed a $100 million investment. Satish Kumar / The National
Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of UAE real estate portal Bayut, closed a $100 million investment. Satish Kumar / The National

UAE’s Bayut.com owner raises $50m in new round



Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of UAE real estate portal Bayut.com, closed a $50 million investment tranche as part of a larger fundraising round intended to fund future acquisitions.

Of the total, $25m is to be deployed in the UAE with a focus on “further consolidation”, said Haider Ali Khan, chief executive of Bayut.com, in a statement on Thursday. “The remaining funds will be used to further strengthen EMPG’s leading position in its other markets,” he said. The names of the investors were not disclosed.

EMPG owns and operates a portfolio of property rental and sales websites that also includes Pakistan-based Zameen.com and Bangladesh-based bproperty.com, and in May acquired Morocco-based property website Mubawab for an undisclosed sum.

EMPG has raised $60m through four previous rounds. The current round is its largest to date, bringing the total to $110m.

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The group has presence in 40 cities across the UAE, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Spain and Romania with over 1,500 employees. Bayut.com was set up in 2008 and is headquartered in Dubai Design District.

“With a compound annual revenue growth rate of over 100 per cent over the last five years, more than 15,000 real estate agencies, and 8 million-plus monthly visits across our portals, EMPG is ideally positioned for regional dominance,” the company’s group chief executive Imran Ali Khan said.

EMPG recorded 124 per cent year-on-year increase in revenues in the first half of 2017, with growth in the UAE 112 per cent up year-on-year in the same period, the company told The National in May.

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Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi

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Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

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Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
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Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Started: 2019
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Sector: FinTech
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Funds raised: $22 million

UAE Premiership

Results

Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes

Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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England XI for second Test

Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.

The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers. 

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