Tuesday, Nov 25, 2008

Gulf News

Dubai: Developer Omniyat PropertiesOmniyat Properties has plans to restructure its payment plans to boost buying and selling activities and says that all of its Dh21 billion of projects are either are under construction or awaiting launch.

The recent merger of AmlakAmlak and TamweelTamweel under the umbrella of the Real Estate BankReal Estate Bank, signals a new trend of international real estate funds boosting buying and selling activity in the region.

"International funds will be the way forward, creating funds from different stakeholders to invest. It's definitely going to be the way forward in light of what's happening around the world and REIT, real estate investment trusts, around the world, but that does not preclude banks. The real estate business depends on both," Mehdi Amjad, executive chairman and president of OmniyatOmniyat, told Gulf News.

Amjad said the split between the company's projects, both under construction and those not yet launched was about 50-50.

With mortgages harder to acquire these days, Amjad said OmniyatOmniyat was considering new payment structures.

Payment plans

"We are considering different payment plans to encourage our customers. We have done that before, where we created a payment plan that 50 per cent was paid in construction and 50 per cent on completion," Amjad said.

There are plans to launch a new programme with a similar payment plan to the marketplace soon, said Amjad.

OmniyatOmniyat currently has Dh13 billion worth of projects already under construction, with three projects due for completion in March 2009.

And a further Dh8 billion is planned but awaiting an appropriate time to be launched which will become clear in about six to 12 months.

"With the current market conditions, we have taken the decision to consolidate all of the projects that we have launched to date...Our new projects will remain under design until such a time as the market conditions become more conducive," Amjad said.

The company is also working with Credit SuisseCredit Suisse on a car parking fund in Business Bay, valued at around $80 million (Dh293.82 million) to $100 million.

Amjad said car parking slots would be rented out on long-term and short-term leases and on an hourly basis.

OmniyatOmniyat recently let go of 69 people, predominantly from the sales and marketing sector.

"We've had to look at our cost structure," said Amjad.

OmniyatOmniyat officials were speaking to local media during a round table discussion yesterday. They are all optimistic about Dubai's robustness and the future of its property sector.

"I have seen two deep real estate recessions in my career. There is life after recession," said Peter Walichnowski, chief executive officer of OmniyatOmniyat.

Walichnowski said the company was operating on a three projects a year scenario.

© Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.

 

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