DIFC announces landmark residential real estate deal with Kuwaiti consortium

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) today confirmed that it is continuing to attract foreign direct investment from serious regional businesses with the announcement that it has signed a deal with Kuwaiti joint venture partners, Global Investment House (Global) and Al Mazaya Holdings Company (Al Mazaya).

Global and Al Mazaya have been awarded a tender by the DIFC to create a state of the art residential building on the 44 hectare DIFC site, following a successful bid at the recently held land auctions.

Worth 450 million AED in total foreign direct investment, this deal confirms the importance of securing capital from outside the UAE to the Government’s overall strategy for the DIFC.

The project will offer up to 1 million square feet of residential space including parking and will be located directly over Road 312 and directly across from the future Gate Gardens District. It will be one of the few all-residential buildings within the Centre.

The DIFC is being established to position Dubai as a universally recognised hub for institutional finance and as the regional gateway for capital and investment to the Middle East. It has already received commitment from many of the world’s biggest financial services companies such as Aon, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered. Critical to its success will be to continue to secure foreign direct investment to enable the completion of the development.

Naser Nabulsi, CEO of DIFC commented,

“HH Sheikh Mohammed’s vision for the DIFC is to create a truly world class financial centre to rival those of London, New York and Hong Kong. Our goal is to gain investment throughout the region to realise this vision and I am delighted that this agreement with Al Mazaya and Global falls directly into the Dubai government’s strategy for attraction of foreign direct investment.”

Mrs. Maha K. Al-Ghunaim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Global said,

“This development is an exciting new type of investment vehicle for our company. We will be offering our clients the opportunity to invest in Dubai through private placement starting next week via a newly established company ‘Dubai First Real Estate Development Company,’ capitalized at KD 20 million.”

Khalid S Esbaitah, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Al Mazaya Holdings Company added,

“The DIFC is not just good for Dubai, but the whole region and we are proud to have won the support of the Government of Dubai in securing this deal for Al Mazaya and Global. We are making an investment in Sheikh Mohammed’s plans for the future and are thrilled to be involved in this high profile international project.”

Based in Kuwait, Global and Al Mazaya are both long established and well-respected Kuwaiti investment houses. They have several other current projects on the go in Dubai, most notable are those at Dubai Healthcare City.