News

Non-oil sector expanded 1.6% in Q1 2019 Inflation declined and private sector employment rebounded The UAE registered GDP growth of 2.2% in Q1 2019 versus the same period last year, backed by continued momentum in the non-oil sector as a result of government spending, according to the Central Bank of the UAE. The non-oil sector expanded 1.6% during the period. […]

Permanent residency available for SAR 800,000 Temporary, one-year renewable residency visa to cost SAR 100,000 Programme aimed to attract foreign investment and provides several benefits Saudi Arabia has opened applications for a permanent residency programme, with the aim of attracting foreign investment. The new scheme offers two options – one provides permanent residency for SAR 800,000, while a cheaper, one-year […]

Upgrade to lead to doubling of lanes in each direction over a 17km sector Capacity of road to be enhanced from 6,000 to 12,000 vehicles per hour Transit time from Emirates Road interchange to Oud Metha Street to be halved An AED 2 billion plan to upgrade road links between Dubai and Al Ain has been approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin […]

The UAE is the only country in the MENA region within the top 10 UAE ranks 5th behind Switzerland, Singapore, Denmark and Sweden The UAE is the fifth most change-ready country in the world, according to KPMG’s 2019 Change Readiness Index report, which ranks countries on their preparedness for change and their ability to respond to it. The UAE followed Switzerland, […]

International real estate investors are inadvertent currency speculators, facing currency risk from unhedged investments. As a result, they receive two returns: the performance of the real estate asset  itself, plus the return on the currency used to purchase the security. Currency volatility can be significant, and the return from the currency can sometimes swamp the gain or loss on the […]

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq are more exposed to potential blockade of Strait of Hormuz UAE and Saudi Arabia have alternative routes for oil transport Oman’s major ports located outside of Gulf Should geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran continue to escalate following oil tanker attacks in Gulf waters, Iran may choose to act on its threat of blocking […]

Real estate data platform Property Monitor has released its Dubai House Price Index for May 2019. The index has been tracking the prices of a selection of properties since September 2015. The Dubai House Price Index revealed that prices declined by 14.5% annually in May 2019, and by 1.5% month-on-month. The average house price in May was AED 2.5 million, […]

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has announced a new permanent residency scheme for residents in the UAE. The new “Golden Card” scheme will initially grant 6,800 select investors whose total investments exceed AED100 billion. In a tweet, Shiekh Mohammed said, “We launched today a permanent resident system named […]

Report gives sector-level analysis across residential, retail, office, industrial and hospitality property Includes pricing research and analysis of real estate trends in Kuwait in 2018 and 2019 Key projects and master developments as part of New Kuwait 2035 Plan Cavendish Maxwell, a leading property consultancy and chartered surveying firm in the Middle East, released its first Kuwait Property Market Report […]

Drop in certificates of deposit in banks to AED 139.2 billion, from AED 146.5 billion in February AED 12.4 billion-worth of excess liquidity withdrawn in December 2018 Analysts said move could generate more business momentum The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) pumped AED7.3 billion into the country’s market in March 2019 according to a statement in WAM. […]